What Lies Behind The Veil
by Pessimistic Plum
Summary: (COMPLETED! Thanks 4 reviews!) Sirius's long-lost son Scipio is on a quest to find his father and rescue him from what lies behind the veil...
1. From Venice to London

**Author's note:** This story is a hybrid of Cornelia Funke's _The Thief Lord_ and J.K.Rowling's Harry Potter series. All characters with the exception of Scipio belong to J.K.Rowling, as he belongs to Cornelia Funke. The plot is completely original, however.

            ***********************************Scipio*********************************************

"Excuse me, sir. Could you direct me to the Campo Santa Magherita?" Asked Scipio, holding out a map pretending to be a British tourist.

"Sure thing, kid," the unsuspecting man replied. "It's right – there on the map. If you take a left at the Marco San Polo, then you should be able to. . ."

As the tourist pointed the directions to Scipio, the boy carefully reached into the man's coat pocket, concealing his wallet. Scipio slowly removed the man's wallet and placed it in his own coat pocket. The man, totally oblivious to the fact that he had been robbed, continued to give Scipio the directions.

"-And then you'll be at the Campo Santa Margherita. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir. Thank you for more things than you'll ever know," Scipio replied, tipping his black hat in gratitude. He was now going home with another possible hundred lire to spend on food and other things he needed in his home.

Scipio approached the run-down Venetian apartments under condemnation. They were worn and the paint was peeling rapidly from the shutters and the windows were boarded up with signs that read "VIETATO INGRESSO"- no entry- in bold lettering. Scipio walked to one of the apartment doors and crept in through the window. 

"Tourists, what idiots!" Scipio exclaimed to himself as he took off his black top hat and long black trench coat once he was inside.  After carelessly throwing them to the ground, he made his way to his bedroom, which was pitch dark because the sun was going down – Scipio had no electricity in his apartment. Reaching into his coat pocket, he took out his long black wand.

"Lumos," Scipio muttered and a spark ignited from the tip of his wand. 

Scipio was many things, as fate would have it. He was an orphan, a thief, and a sixteen-year old boy with no past. And, he was a wizard. Before Scipio ever resided in Venice, he lived in a muggle orphanage in Bristol, England. His mother had died during childbirth and his father's whereabouts were a mystery. He had been a most miserable little boy at the orphanage, often pick-pocketing nuns and professors for the fun of it and was always in trouble for one reason or another at school. Then, on his eleventh birthday that year in August, he received a letter that would change his life forever: he had been accepted to Kikaider Academy of Magic- a school of witchcraft and wizardry outside Venice, Italy. Deciding that the nuns of the school would not permit Scipio to go to a school of witchcraft and wizardry, he ran away to Venice alone, carrying nothing but his hopes and dreams and not two pennies to rub together. Kikaider eventually caught up with Scipio and provided him with everything he needed for school, a wand, school robes, books, and even money and clothing for when he returned to the non-magical world.

For the last five years of his life, Scipio had lived in this apartment alone with no family ties or hints of his past. The only clue he had about his past was his last name, his father's last name: Black. With his seventeenth birthday at hand, Scipio very much wanted to find out who his father was, where he was, and why he abandoned him when he was still a baby. He had saved (or rather stolen) most of the fees he needed to get to Bristol for the last few months and was very close to his aimed goal. In Bristol, he would find clues of his past and ways to make his own future brighter. He knew it. He depended upon it.

Scipio looked into the mirror beside his bed as he changed into his nighttime clothes. He was a tall skinny boy with long black hair neatly placed into a ponytail. His icy blue eyes contradicted his otherwise dark complexioned features and his long pointy nose was sharp enough to cut the skin. Standing lazily in his underpants, he ran his spider-like fingers through his hair- a habit he'd had since childhood. Deciding that he could no longer pickpocket safely without being watched by the police, Scipio jumped onto the hard, tearing mattress on his bed. There, in his underwear, he cradled his head with his arms until he fell asleep. The next morning, he would meet his quota and take the next plane to London. 

Miles and two countries away, Harry Potter awoke to the twinge of his scar.

*********************************Harry***********************************************

"You know, death isn't sounding so bad right now. No more stupid scar," Harry said aloud to himself sarcastically. He'd taken to sarcasm this summer mostly because sharing the way he actually felt made him miserable. Laughing in spite of sorrow was a difficult matter 

Harry had awoken with a splitting headache grabbing for the lightning shaped scar on his forehead. It had pained more since Harry had left Hogwarts one month ago, but it was to be expected due to more recent events so Harry dealt with the pain accordingly. He had to think less of his scar; there was enough to worry about without the constant reminder of his scar that Voldemort was back. It was because of this thought that Harry managed to stand upright on his own after nearly ramming into his coffee table and knocking over Hedwig's cage. After scanning the room dazed and confused, he realized that he was in his room at the Dursley's. Spotting Dudley's extra large clothing and a broken barred off window confirmed this and so Harry sat upright on his bed and thought critically of his recent dream.

            It was the same dream Harry had been having for weeks: the death of Sirius and the mind controlling Voldemort had done. Only in this dream, Dumbledore found it right to kill Harry.

_"You have caused us too much trouble Harry" _Dumbledore had said dryly in his dream, eyes full of malice and distrust, smiling wryly_. Perhaps if I just finished what Voldemort seemed to not be able to carry out . . .  " _

Harry shook himself awake, truly realizing that Dumbledore would never kill him, Harry for the simple reason of being a bother. As Harry had learned, Dumbledore had mistakenly become too attached to Harry to tell him simple truths …simple truths about his past present and future. And what Harry had learned about his future in Dumbledore's office, he was terrified of but all but willing to accept. 

Last year, Harry had gone to the Department of Mysteries, searching for his Godfather Sirius, whom he thought to be soon murdered by Voldemort. There, he found his search for Sirius to be a trap, banking on Harry's flaw of heroism and by coincidence, Harry took the one thing Voldemort had wanted – a prophecy – and broken it so its contents were unknown. There, the same person who had killed Neville Longbottom's parents – Bellatrix Lestrange, had killed Sirius. Tearing after her in white-hot fury he met with Dumbledore and Voldemort who had begun to duel. Voldemort and Lestrange had disappeared just as Fudge and the ministry had appeared and he'd gone back to Hogwarts feeling miserable about his godfather's death. He later found that the prophecy that Voldemort had been so keen on getting told both his and Harry's future. Voldemort and Harry would face each other one time in Harry's not-too-distant future and either Harry would come out as the murderer or the victim. It had given Harry no sense of hope and he feared the day he thought would come soon. 

Harry stood up and looked into his mirror, still a bit dazed and stared at his reflection. There was the tall lanky boy with untidy jet-black hair and acid-green eyes he'd always known. His face had thinned out considerably during the summer and whenever he looked into the mirror, he saw himself as looking more and more like his father everyday. Harry spun on his heels and dressed quickly, wishing to go for a brief walk before the Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon awoke for breakfast. Wearing alight blue T-shirt and a-size-too-big khaki shorts, he headed out of the house and out of the Dursley's front yard. But before he could leave the lawn, an owl flew at Harry, Ron's owl. Untying the letter attached to its left leg, Harry sat on the front steps and read.

_Harry,_

_It's been nearly two months and we haven't heard a single letter from you. Dumbledore insists that all is well, but if that's so, why haven't you been writing to Hermione and I? Well, Mum's invitation of staying over for the summer still stands, if you want to come. She's been in a rather friendly mood around the house lately; don't know what's gotten into her. _

_Dad's away on order business, the new location is supposed to be Lupin's house, but Mum won't allow us to go at all. She's told Fred and George they're to watch us while she's away, as if were still babies! Honestly, Fred and George watch somebody? She must be on something. Hermione's here and she tells me to make sure you're okay. We're really worried about you, Harry. We haven't seen you this down in a long time. Ginny asks about you too. Well, if all isn't well, I wish you'd let somebody know. We've been really worried about you. Remember Mum's offer, Harry._

_Ron_

_So they've really been worried about me, thought Harry. _I didn't think they'd really care if I wrote them or not. I guess it's due to recent circumstances. _Harry stood up and stretched, ruffling his hair into a sloppy state. Then he realized where this wretched habit had come from: his father! Harry smiled in spite of himself and walked back into the house. Every day, it seemed, he became more and more like his father. Now all he needed was to grow an ego the size of Europe. _

Both smiling and feeling sorry for Sirius, Harry went to his room to compose two letters of apology: one to Ron and Hermione and one to Professor Dumbledore. 

_Ron and Hermione,_

_First, I want to apologize for not keeping close contact with you this summer. I have been going through a pretty rough time, coping with issues I never would have dreamed possible. But you two have stuck with me through everything and you don't deserve to be kept in the dark under any circumstances._

For a brief moment, Harry considered being completely honest, sharing the prophecy. But it seemed his hand would not allow him to worry his friends more than they were possible already worried. 

_Tell your Mum, that I'm up on the offer, Ron. I'll come as soon as possible. I'll have to check with my guard first. I can only imagine Mad-Eye's magical eye spinning in anger. Fred and George are home? That's great, it's been boring without them, I have to admit. Has 'upright Percy' come home yet? I figured it'd only be a matter of time, unless he has some serious pride issues. I don't know why I've been so distant lately; really, I keep anticipating something to happen when we get to Hogwarts. I have no idea what this could be, but I know that it must have something to do with Sirius. Call me crazy, guys, but I think there's a way we could bring him back. I know what you're thinking, Hermione, don't give my hopes up, but I figure as long as I still have my hopes, I can cope with disappointment. I miss you both very much and try not to have too much fun until I get there._

_Stop worrying,_

_Harry_

Harry tied the letter on Ron's owl and sent it off into the morning. He picked up a clean piece of parchment and a quill and was ready to begin his letter to Professor Dumbledore. He owed him a great apology. After all, he had destroyed most of the man's belongings not-too-long ago in June. But Harry remembered the letter Dumbledore had written to him a day after he arrived at the Dursley's, saying that he was on order business somewhere in another country . . . where was it again? Ah yes, _Venice, Italy._

********************************Scipio************************************************

Scipio threw on his black pants and his long black trench coat. He didn't have much time to prepare himself today, he was in a rush to meet his quota and leave Venice before sunset, and he wanted to leave for London as soon as possible. He did manage, however to run his fingers through his raven-black hair a few times and wink at himself. Finally, he put his hair into the ponytail style he usually wore and put on his black top hat. After putting all of his money in his coat pocket and his wand (he could never be too sure) he left his apartment and headed towards the Campo Santa Margherita. 

"How I hate tourists," Scipio managed to mumble while smiling at several young ladies. There was no denying his good looks; he was a magnet when it came to attracting young ladies. It was always to his benefit, robbing them blindly as they spoke of their latest trips to the spas and how 'daddy dear' never let them go out on their own. But today, he needed a bit more money than that. He needed at least a _thousand_ lire, and he needed it before sunset. The he spotted his target, a long gray bearded man with moon-shaped spectacles and twinkling blue eyes sipping a coffee at a local cafe. 

He normally didn't target older people, but being very desperate today, he would do anything. He stood there observing out his surroundings, planning the best way to take the man's wallet and an escape route, just in case. But before he could even advance upon the man, a young boy rammed into him and stole his wallet. Scipio ran after the boy screaming at the top of his lungs, but it was no use, the boy's tiny stature and fast speed were too much for the sixteen-year-old. Grumbling heavily to himself he stomped hard upon the ground. 

"Imagine," Scipio growled "a thief being robbed by a thief! What is this world coming to?"

"An end," Suggested an old man's voice from behind him. It was the moon-shaped spectacle man Scipio had seen before at the coffee shop. Scipio now had a close up view of the man and he seemed much older than he'd appeared from afar. Wrinkles lined his skin and his eyes were deep pools of grief and sorrow, even though they tried to pull off into a cheery smile.

"Yeah, I agree to that. You saw what happened?"

"Oh yes, I did and I am rather sorry. Perhaps if you'd allow me to, I'll buy you a coffee. I'd very much like to talk with you."

But grief tore at Scipio's heart. Only five minuets ago, he'd wanted to rob the man and now he was being offered coffee. He looked at the ground and managed a smile.

"No, I think I'd better be going. I really need to find that money. I was planning on leaving today."

"Really? To where?"

"London. I'm on –er family business." That was not a lie.

"Well, if it is rather urgent, I suppose I could take you back to London with me, I was planning on leaving in a few days anyway and it'd really be no trouble."

"I would, but I have no place to stay."

"If you wouldn't mind staying with an old man for a few days until you handle what family matters need to be dealt with, you're very welcome to stay with me."

Scipio looked at the man in both awe and suspicion. There was not such man in all of Venice who would make such an offer, no matter how sorry he felt for him. For a moment, Scipio considered it. If this stranger were willing to offer, he'd be a fool not to take him at his word. But again, his conscience ate at him.

"I really couldn't sir. Thank you for your offer anyway. It has greatly lifted my spirits."

The man smiled and held out a hand. "My name is Albus Dumbledore. I'm a headmaster at a school in London. Won't you at least tell me your name before you leave?"

Scipio saw no harm in it. If anyone were following him anymore, He'd soon be leaving the country without a trace. Breaking into a staggered walk, Scipio turned to Dumbledore and smiled.

"My name is Scipio, Scipio Black."

He left Dumbledore standing in the street looking both content and interested, as if he'd seen something familiar in him for a moment. Then Scipio turned down a dark alleyway and disappeared into the darkness.

*********************************Harry***********************************************

Harry picked up his parchment and quill and looked for Dumbledore's last letter. In it, he'd enclosed the members of his guard in case he needed to get in touch with them for any reason. Harry looked down the list. To whom would he write? Mad-Eye? No, he was too paranoid. He'd have a better chance of seeing snowflakes in hell. Lupin? No, Lupin would still be worried stiff about Harry's state. Shacklebolt? Perhaps not. Mundungus? Only if he wanted a firm telling off from Mrs. Weasley. Harry glanced down the list until he came to the last on the list, and beamed.

Nymphadora Tonks. 

He'd write to Tonks. She was by far the most understanding of his guard and he was sure that if he needed to pull one over on anybody, Tonks was the one with the weak spot.

_Dear Tonks,_

_I know it's been a while since I've written to any of the members of my guard. I was writing to tell you that all is well and that my uncle has not poisoned me with arsenic. . . (Yet)_. I was wondering if you could do me a favor though, Tonks, a little one. I wanted to visit Ron Weasley this summer as I usually do. I promise that I will be on my best behavior and write to you and the rest of my guard every day to keep you updated. Please consider, Tonks, It's been quite a while since I've had outside contact and the loss of socialization has me becoming almost as paranoid as Mad-Eye. Please say yes if you have my sanity at heart.__

_Love,_

_Harry_

Harry clicked his tongue at Hedwig and smiled. 

"You ready to stretch your wings a bit, girl?"

Hedwig cooed brightly and shot out of her cage like a bullet. She seemed very eager for Harry to get the letter on her leg so that she could go soaring through the window. When she did leave, Harry suddenly felt alone. 

            Harry often felt like this: alone, as if he had no one he could relate to. Sometimes he just wished for a friend. Someone he could confide in and that could confide in him as well. Sure, Ron and Hermione were the best friends anybody could ever ask for, but Harry sought a friend who had been through things he had gone through, who could relate to his pain. And as Harry thought of this, he flipped through his parent's photo album, past a picture of Sirius and a tall brunette with the most alluring icy blue eyes he'd ever seen.

**End of chapter one. Please review. Any suggestions would be appreciated.  Thank-you very much.**


	2. Discoveries and Confrontations

**Author's note: **This fan fic is halfway completed, the uploading process is what's making it take so long. Sorry. Here's chapter 2. Please review. Thank-you.

****************************************Scipio*******************************************

Scipio was out of ideas. He was now truly in trouble. He now had no money and no true possessions but the coat on his back and the wand in his pocket. He had to get that money back . . . he just had to. Walking aimlessly down the alleyway led him to an empty street where little children were playing a game of red rover. Scipio smiled at the children, remembering how much he'd loved to play red rover when he was in the orphanage in Bristol. He stopped reminiscing over his past however when he saw the same little boy that had stolen his wallet. It was him, for certain, his curly hair all over his head. He made an advance towards the boy, but the boy realized he had been spotted. This led Scipio on a wild chase down the narrow alley. He caught up with the boy and picked him up by the shoulders. The boy kicked and squirmed miserably, but Scipio did not let go.

"Where is my money, boy?"

"I-in my p-pocket, sir. B-but you c-can't have it, I need it!"

"You need it? I need it! If you want money, there are better ways of going about doing it than pick-pocketing." How _ironic_ it was now that he, a great thief in Venice would lecture a young boy about thieving.

"But you are almost an adult. You can seek work. I cannot."

"What about your mother and father, don't _they_ work?"

The boy looked downcast at the ground. Suddenly Scipio understood, this boy was an orphan, a runaway just like him. Scipio felt a twinge of grief for the little boy and gently put his feet back on the ground. 

"Keep the money, boy. I have not the great need that you have for it. That was obvious when you robbed a boy ten times as tall as you."

The boy looked again at the ground. Scipio then added:

"And a better thief than you, at that."

The boy looked up and smiled broadly. Scipio gave the boy a compassionate wink and set off toward his own alley, his home where he too was an orphan. He crawled through the window and walked into his bedroom, planning on what to do next. But he had not planned for Dumbledore to be standing there, eyes twinkling in wizarding robes.

*****************************************Harry*******************************************

Harry awoke to the fluttering of the owls' wings. He'd only just sent them yesterday and now they were back, zooming about his bedroom merrily with letters attached to their legs. Harry sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes and putting on his glasses. Soon, he'd find a permanent charm to keep him from having to wear these ridiculous glasses. He clamed down both of the owls and untied the great black barn owl first. This one had to be Tonks' reply. 

_Harry,_

_You've got me bad, my friend. How could I deny you of the only thing you want so badly? Besides, those lines about being as paranoid as Moody gave me the chills. I've already told Lupin, Shacklebolt, and Mad-Eye and we are all in approval that you deserve a break. We'll meet you in your kitchen at exactly twelve o'clock midnight tonight. Have your trunks ready, I'll provide you with a distraction for your relatives. I'll be wearing my green hair; I've become rather fond of snot colored objects._

_Love,_

_Tonks_

Great! Now he could go. Now all he had to do was read Ron's note. Only, it was from Hermione.

_Dear Harry,_

_I'm so glad you responded it is rather hard not to be worried sick about you when you don't keep in touch. Tonks has written to us and told us everything. We'll be up and waiting for you by the fireplace, Lupin suggests we go by floo powder since the network is now accessible to us. No word still from Hagrid and Professor Dumbledore is expected a bit later than he expected. Won't even tell Ron's parents about it. Whatever it is, I hope it's good news; personally, I couldn't stand anymore bad news. Take care and hopefully we'll see you tonight._

_Love,_

_Hermione_

_P.S., Ron's not in. It seems he has a new next-door neighbor. A very pretty blonde next-door neighbor. Come soon before Ron makes an utter arse of himself._

"Hmmm Hermione, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were jealous. I really have to get you and Ron together by the end of term, you belong together," harry said with a wholehearted smile. He definitely had reason to smile now; he soon was going to be with his best friends for the summer. Nothing could ruin this day-

Bang.

"Boy, get out of that room now! Petunia needs some vacuuming done!" Uncle Vernon bellowed from outside Harry's door.

Or so he thought.

*****************************************Scipio*******************************************

Scipio's hands went directly for the wand in his pocket. He saw Dumbledore not do so much as move for his. Scipio now had the position of power. It was safe for him to question Dumbledore now. 

"Who are you, Dumbledore? Who are you really?"

Dumbledore smiled and signaled for Scipio to lower his wand. Apparently the man did not want to fight. But what did he want and how did he find Scipio's hideout? Scipio slowly lowered his wand.

"Scipio, you say your name is? Scipio _Black?_"

For a moment, Scipio tensed. The man was after him. How could he have been so silly and blind? Now he was going back to Bristol, he'd never find out about his father and he'd never go back to Kikaider.

"Yes, I guess you're after me.  I'll get my things."

"What for?" Dumbledore asked in amusement. "I'm not taking you anywhere, unless you'd like to take me up on my offer after I tell you something I think you've been searching for all of your life."

"What would that be?" asked Scipio, clearly skeptical.

"Your father, you have been searching for him, am I right?"

"How did you know-?"

"Hold on Scipio, questions at the end. You say you come from Bristol, a muggle orphanage. Your mother's name was Millicent Dickinson? Your father's last name is indeed Black?"

"How'd you know my mother's name? Yes, I know this. I also know they weren't married. That's probably why the orphanage could never pin me with my father."

"Well, what if I told you I knew of your father?"

"You do –wait, what do you mean by 'knew of'?"

"Your father," Dumbledore began cautiously "has recently passed away."

"Oh," Scipio began with disappointment, "I see."

"Yes, another boy your age has found the loss of your father devastating as well."

"Really? Was he the boy's father?"

"No, his godfather. The boy is Harry Potter."

"Harry Potter? The Harry Potter? As in the Boy Who Lived? No way!"

"Yes, Harry had grown quite attached to your father during his third year at Hogwarts. He lost his only relation of family that day."

"He knows how I feel, huh?"

"Very much so."

"Wait, you never told me my father's name."

"Sirius, Sirius Black."

"You mean that English prisoner who escaped Azkaban? That's my father?" Scipio asked a bit disturbed and disgruntled. 

"You have much to be proud of, your father was a good man-"

"My dad was wanted by the police? Cool!"

Dumbledore stared at Scipio in disbelief. There was no way that this boy was human, no way.

"So, now that I know this, what was your offer?"

"I could take you to visit Harry. You'll find that the two of you greatly resemble your parents. And that your parents were best of friends. Like brothers almost."

"So he's sort of like my brother twice removed? Neat, I've always wanted siblings."

Dumbledore smiled, then it dawned upon him. . . 

"You have family left."

"What? If I did, why was I sent to an orphanage?"

"Perhaps you ran away too soon."

"Oh –hey, how did you know about that?"

"Resources."

"So, who are they? Are they rich?"

"Oh, they are quite rich. They have a son your age too."

"Really? What is his name?"

"Draco Malfoy."

"Sounds exciting. Is he my cousin?"

"Yes he is."

"Great! I think I see the other half of your deal now. I can stay with the Malfoy's, right?"

"Them permitting, I would see no wrong in it. However, there is a minor detail you may want to pay attention to when living with the Malfoy's."

"What? Are they like, deranged psychos?"

"No, Mr. Malfoy is wanted by the police. He is a death eater."

"Disgusting! I don't know Dumbledore, you're putting me in quite a position here. I'd feel like a spy almost."

"And that's exactly what you'll be. A spy upon the Malfoy's."

"Ahh! And you can keep tags on Master Malfoy's whereabouts as well as other death eaters whereabouts because the chances are, he'll know!"

"Correct. You don't have to do this, however. I know that you go to another school of witchcraft and wizardry. But if you are serious about having a home and finding more about your history, I could transfer you to Hogwarts."

"Really? How could you do that?"

"I'm headmaster, remember?"

"Oh yes, you mentioned that. But I had no idea you were the headmaster of a magical school. That makes all the difference."

"So, do you take me up on my offer, Scipio Black?"

"How could I deny it?"

*****************************************Harry*******************************************

Harry sat in the kitchen with his Hogwarts things, standing in the still of the night. Stupidly, the Dursley's had fallen again for Tonks' schemes and they were out getting ready for a vacation in Tahiti. Or so they thought, anyway. Harry had unboarded the fireplace and stood waiting. Suddenly, flames appeared and several people popped out of the fire. 

Harry's advance guard had arrived.

"Harry! You've grown at least a meter since I last saw you! You're a giant!" Tonks exclaimed standing herself next to Harry. Harry was at least a head taller than Tonks, but he'd always been that way.

"Harry, great to see you again. I trust you've had a dreary summer with the Dursley's?" Lupin said apologetically.

"Not really. I pretty much locked myself up inside my room. They can't really disturb me when I'm locked behind a door."

"Good point," Shacklebolt stated, smiling slightly.

"Potter!" A deep voice growled from the back of the group.

"What?"

"Your wand isn't in your pocket, is it boy?"

Harry smiled. It was Mad-Eye Moody addressing him now. He was the only one paranoid about wand safety.

"No sir, it's in my bag."

"Your bag? What if it rubbed up against something and ignited? Everything you have could go up in flames! Not to mention the way your hand would be shriveled up!"

"Mad-Eye, who do you know that gets their buttocks blown off and their hands ignited? Whoever it is needs a vacation to St. Mungo's," Tonks asked, rolling her eyes at the senile old man.

A few chuckles were dispersed. __

"Has anyone heard from Dumbledore?" Harry finally asked.

"No, though I think he is on his way back to London. He had some rather important business to attend to." Lupin answered.

"Even while he was on vacation?" Harry asked in disbelief. 

"Troubles stop for nobody, Harry. Not even for great wizards like Albus Dumbledore." Mad-Eye quickly added.

"Come along you all! We told the Weasley twins 12:15, and it is now 12:45. We don't want them to close the network on us!" Tonks said excitedly.

"Alright. I'll go with Harry," Lupin suggested.

"I'll go in front, Kingsley and Tonks take the rear," Moody grumbled.

One by one, they all walked into the fireplace screaming "The Burrow!" and they all ended up in the fireplace in Ron's kitchen. Harry stepped out and dusted himself off. How he hated traveling by floo powder.

"Harry! Ron, wake up, it's Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, running over to give a sooty Harry a tight hug. Then to Harry's surprise, she slapped him soundly across the face. Even Moody stopped to watch.

"You didn't write once to us! Can you imagine how worried we've all been about you? What happened to common decency?"

"It went out the window the moment you slapped me, I'd say Hermione."

Ron chuckled and moved toward Harry, who was now rubbing his face where a hand mark now appeared.

"Well, no worries buddy. I won't slap you." Ron said smiling at Harry's red face.

"That's a relief. Now, I'd say you all get to bed, you know how Molly gets in the morning." Lupin added walking towards the fireplace.

"You mean the way she always is?" Fred stepped in.

"A total w-iach?" George added.

"Well, she is a witch, Fred and George, but perhaps not the way you're implying. Goodnight all. We'll see you in the morning." Tonks said and she walked back into the fireplace screaming "The Order!" One by one, the adults went into the fireplace and left until the flames had gone from the fireplace. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred George and Ginny stood together in the kitchen looking around.

"So, how's your summer been, Harry?"

"Wretched, as usual. Yours?" Harry asked.

"Not too bad. The view is nice," Ron said pointing towards the window at a house down the street.

"Yeah, Fred and I have been doing a little snooping ourselves. Turns out, she has a twin." George said, looking out the window as well.

"No way!" Harry and Ron exclaimed.

"Yeah, Fred and I only realized when he saw one in the backyard and I saw one in the bedroom window." George added rather saucily. 

"What were you dong looking into her window? You perverts!" Hermione asked, fuming.

"Ah, Hermione. One day you'll understand. You'll see that you too are watched. Isn't that right, Ron?"

Ron blushed a shade of red and ran up to his room.

George, Fred and Harry stood in the kitchen and laughed soundly. Hermione and Ginny both whispered something to each other and retreated upstairs after Ron.

"Where are you two going, shrimp?" Fred called out at Ginny.

"I'm going to bed. I'm tired and that's usually what I do when I'm tired, go to bed. You should try it, common logic."

"I think that was an insult." George said absentmindedly. 

"I don't know . . . my brain is still spinning a bit. Perhaps we better catch some shut-eye. Come on, Harry, we'll take your bags up to Ron's room. Don't know what's gotten into the squirt lately." Fred said, worried. 

"Yeah, I think he's confused." George then added.

"Confused? Of what?" Harry asked befuddled.

"He likes Hermione, but the girl next door is very inviting, if you know what I mean," Fred said with a wink. The twins carried up Harry's things and took them to Ron's room. Harry thanked the twins and took the bed beside Ron. He fell asleep faster than he had all summer. 

*****************************************Scipio*************************************

Dumbledore led Scipio up the steps of the Malfoy mansion later the next day. Knocking soundly, he heard a house elf come to the door and ask rather haughtily:

"What business do you have with the Malfoy's, sir?"

"Tell Mrs. Malfoy that Albus Dumbledore is here with a nephew of hers."

"Dumbledore, eh, sir? Come in sirs. Come in. Mistress will not be pleased, not one bit."

Scipio looked around the huge mansion. There were thousands of pictures of wizards all looking at him in disbelief and in awe. One in particular spoke.

"You, boy, come here."

Scipio looked around as if someone else was standing behind him.

"Yes you, boy, are you retarded? Come here!"

Scipio walked up to the picture. In it was Phineas Nigellus, a noble older man who stared at Scipio in disbelief.

"You, you are a member of the Black family?"

"Yes, my father was Sirius. Sirius Black."

The hall stood silent, then all the pictures broke into conversation.

"Looks just like his father. Just like him," One witch pointed out.

"Hope he's not a muggle lover like Sirius, though." One man replied.

"I think he's a half breed. Those eyes are not Black family eyes." A skeptical fat woman spoke these words.

"Definitely not. Those resemble the Dickinson clan of Germany." A lonely witch spoke up.

"Exceptional full-breed family." A dark haired wizard replied.

"He's a full-blood! This is more than I could hope for!" Phineas said excitedly.

"Yes, you don't get too many of those anymore. Seems Sirius went out of the traditional league, didn't he?" another witch replied

"But this one, he looks like a warrior, look at those eyes! Finally, a member of the Black clan lives on! Go catch up with that fool, boy! I'll be sure to tell Narcissa in the parlor. She cannot refuse my only successor, not at all!" Phineas disappeared and Scipio ran off to join Dumbledore.

Dumbledore had gone off and Scipio now looked around for him. He didn't want to get lost in here; it was a rather large place to get lost in. He looked up the steps and saw a blonde boy with his hair slicked back, giving him the most malicious grin.

"Who are you?" Scipio asked, beginning to rise up the steps.

"I'm your cousin, Draco. The question is, who are you and why are you in my house?"

"Your house? I was under the impression that it belonged to Master Malfoy."

Draco twitched a bit. "He's not here any longer, but he will return. Until then, I am Master Malfoy. And I asked you who you were."

"Scipio Black. Son of Sirius Black."

Draco gaped open mouthed for a moment and turned it into a wide smile. "Welcome to Malfoy Manor, _cousin. _Where are you going to?"

"I'm here with Dumbledore. I am in great need of a place to stay, I have no family left."

"Mother isn't apt to take in strays, but if you are truly related to me as you say you are, you can expect to be living here for the next two years. More if you'd like. It's not really my call."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Can you take me to your mother? I need to meet with Dumbledore."

"Sure, follow me."

Draco and Scipio walked down the grand hallway and made their way into a dimly lit room. There stood Dumbledore and Scipio's aunt, Narcissa.

"You want me to do a favor for you? After what you've done to my husband? You insignificant pig! I'd rather die a muggle!" A woman cried out in white anger.

            Well then consider the favor not of me, but of Mrs. Black. Her grandson now stands in your home seeking shelter and you will not provide it for him. After all of the wonderful donations she'd given you so that you could marry Lucius? You owe her the favor. And the boy. If you do not take him in, he will go back to thievery on the streets of Venice! You cannot allow this to happen!"

"Indeed you cannot," Phineas jumped in. "My _grandson_ needs a place of residence. He is the only member of the Black Family left. It was _your_ fault he isn't here today to raise his son!"

"I had nothing to do with that!" Narcissa screamed, standing out of her seat. "Speak to your niece Bellatrix for that! Trixy was the one who _murdered_ him, not me!"

Scipio stood frozen to the floor. Draco looked at his face and smiled.

"Perhaps you should go in," Draco suggested with an impish smile. "Mother has a soft spot for boys like you."

Slowly, Scipio made his way inside the room. The screaming ceased. Narcissa stood frozen, looking Scipio form head to toe. 

"He looks just like Sirius. Just like him."

"Indeed. That is why I was so interested in him." Dumbledore said snappily. 

"The boy can stay. He will stay here until term begins. Where will he be going to learn? Is he of magic?"

"He's a pure blood! Of course he's of magic!" Phineas bellowed in offense.

"Scipio goes to a wizarding school outside Venice. I could transfer the boy to Hogwarts if you are willing to keep him." Dumbledore added.

"Of course, he will go to Hogwarts. He will be in Slytherin with Draco." Narcissa said, beaming at Scipio.

"The boy will be sorted, Narcissa. Every student in my school is sorted. This case shall be no different." Dumbledore said with caution.

"He will be in Slytherin. I couldn't see the boy being in anything but Slytherin," Narcissa said with a great smile. "He has the look for it."

"We shall see. I'll go get his things. I must be on my way, Narcissa."

"Yes, be on your way. Don't come back here again, do you hear?"

"I hear you, Narcissa. Nor do I want to visit Malfoy Manor again. Good day."

Scipio's trunk appeared in the parlor and Dumbledore disappeared. Scipio stood in the parlor awkwardly. Phineas and Narcissa looked at him beaming madly. Malfoy entered the room.

"Where is he staying, mum?" Malfoy asked, smiling.

"Next door to you, Malfoy. I want you to make Scipio feel as welcome as possible. You will take him to Hogsmeade and to Diagon Alley with you to buy school supplies tomorrow."

"I have no money, Ma'am." Scipio said, feeling rather awkward.

"Call me Aunt Narcissa. Yes, I see that. Very well, I will provide you with money to shop with and some for your pockets. I swear to you, as long as you reside in Malfoy Manor, you will never go hungry or poor again."

"Thank-you Aunt Narcissa."

"There's a good lad. Draco, send in the house elves to bring Scipio's trunk to his room. Take him on a tour of the house. Then meet me downstairs for dinner. We have much to discuss."

"Yes mother." Malfoy said smiling.

"Yes Aunt Malfoy." Scipio added and walked out of the parlor with Draco. He had a family finally. . .  An evil rich family, but a family nonetheless. 

*****************************************Harry*******************************************

Harry awoke late the next morning. He looked around the Ron's room confused for a moment and then remembered the events of last night. He slowly got out of bed and walked down the steps in his night clothes, hair messily set all over his face. Fred, George, Ginny, Hermione, Ron and Mrs. Weasley were already at the breakfast table.

"Oh Harry dear, it is nice to see you. You certainly slept like a log last night. Ron practically screamed in your ear to wake up. We've gotten your Hogwarts letters and supply list. We'll go out to Diagon Alley today to pick up school supplies."

"And to buy Ron a personality," Fred said in-between a cough.

"Ha ha, you're oh-so-funny Fred. What are _you_ two going to do this year?" Ron said, slightly blushing.

"_We_ have bought a shop in Hogsmeade next to the Hog's Head! Weasley's Wizard Wheezes Jokes for all Occasions Shoppe opens September first when you '_children_' will be boarding the train to Hogwarts." George said pointing his finger at Ron, Hermione, Harry and Ginny.

"Save your money, you four. You'll be first to get samples." Fred announced proudly.

"No thanks, Fred. I wouldn't trust anything you make even if I had a ninety-nine and a half foot pole to touch it with." Ginny said with a disgusted expression directed at the twins.

"Whatever little sister. You'll be wishing you'd took us up on the offer later." George said with a wink at Harry.

"Okay you all, get dressed. We're leaving for Diagon alley in thirty minutes. If you're not ready, you get left behind!" Mrs. Weasley announced.

*****************************************Scipio***********************************

Scipio awoke to absolute silence. He looked around the giant bedroom he had and quickly lurched out of bed. The first thing he wanted to do was take a nice hot shower; he hadn't had one of those since he broke into a home off the Campo San Polo.  After he got out of his long luxurious shower and washed his hair throughout, he dressed in his best outfit, a pair of dark Khakis and a black T-Shirt. He was still combing his hair when Draco walked in, still in his pajamas.

"Scipio, It's time to get- oh, you're an early bird? That's fine; just don't wake me up when you do. I prefer my sleep to combing my hair."

"Ah Malfoy, that's partially because you don't have hair like mine. My hair must always maintain its soft bounce for the ladies."

"Whatever. Mother wants us downstairs in under an hour, we're going to buy school supplies for you and I. I have to buy you robes too. I don't think your school robes will do. Dumbledore sent you a  list of supplies you'll need. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to get ready."

"Sure thing Drac."

Scipio saw Malfoy wince slightly at being called 'Drac.' He smiled and went back to combing his hair into a ponytail. When he went downstairs to breakfast, he held his Hogwarts list in hand and kissed his aunt on the cheek.

"Good morning, Scipio. I trust you slept well?"

"Like a log. I haven't slept that well since-"

Scipio was going to say "since he'd been at the orphanage, but right now in his surroundings, he didn't want to bring up that bit of his past now.

"I'm glad," Narcissa said, not concerned that he hadn't finished his sentence. I told Draco to wake you up only five minutes ago. You can't have gotten ready that fast, could you?"

"I'm an early bird, I tend to wake up earlier than most normal people. That's what Draco informed me of."

"Yes, Draco sleeps like the dead. He's very moody when people awake him earlier than he'd prefer."

Just then, Draco cam downstairs in a green T-shirt and a pair of loose jeans, his hair slicked back perfectly.

"Are we ready? I have a lot of things I need to get and Crabbe and Goyle are supposed to meet me outside Gringotts."

"Wait until Scipio has finished eating, Draco!" Narcissa barked at Malfoy. Malfoy looked from her to Scipio and winked. Scipio caught the wink and understood what it meant.

"Aunt Narcissa," Scipio began, putting his plate down, though he was very hungry and very much wanted to finish his breakfast. "I think Malfoy and I should get going. It's best if we get everything done now so we can come home sooner. Is that okay?"

"Very well," Narcissa said, dismissing the two boys grumpily. "Be back before it gets too dark."

Draco led Scipio into the dining room and they walked into Malfoy's great fireplace. Draco pulled some floo powder from his pocket and screamed "Diagon Alley!" The two boys landed in the center of the Diagon Alley. Scipio had never before seen such a town. He'd be exposed to the magical world in Venice, but it wasn't nearly as developed as London. Draco gave Scipio a handful of coins. Then he explained to him the currency.

"I've given you a handful of Galleons. They shouldn't spend fast, I assure you. You'll need to buy a black Hogwarts robe and an owl. You can't get something like a rat or a cat because father despises them. You'll find your books in the shop across the street, and there are many places to eat. "

"I'm taking it that you're leaving me now, huh?"

"Yes, but you can fend for yourself. Diagon Alley isn't that big of a place. I'll meet you outside Florence Fortescure's Ice Cream parlor in two hours. Then we can hang out. You'll have to get a broom; I can't believe you don't have of your own! I've got some business to take care of."

"Alright Malfoy, see you in two hours."

Draco set off towards Gringotts and left Scipio to walk around the busy town alone. He managed to find all of his books, his robes (he'd gotten a blue dress robe as well), a small black barn owl he named Squawks, and looked around at the quidditch supply stores. He'd played quidditch at Kikaider, but he'd never owned a broom of his own. He was very excited to soon be buying a broom of his own. Feeling hungry, he walked to the ice cream parlor and sat at a table alone. A few girls from a local table invited him over and he gladly sat with them.

"Hi, My name is Pansy Parkinson. You must be from out of town, I haven't seen you at Hogwarts before, I'm sure I would have noticed you."

This received a few high-pitched giggles from some of the girls at the table. Scipio smirked. He was not out of his game.

"No, actually I'm from Venice, Italy. I'm staying with my cousin Draco Malfoy this summer, and will be going to Hogwarts this year."

"You're related to Malfoy? I figured you were, you're rather attractive."

Scipio smirked once again. "I guess it's in the genes, I wouldn't know."

"So, what's your name?"

"I'm Scipio, Scipio Black."

There was a deathly silence at the table. Pansy and the other girls stopped giggling and stared at Scipio in fear.

"What? Did I say something wrong?"

"You're related to Sirius Black?"

"Yeah, he's my father."

"Your father was a murderer?"

Scipio could feel the tension and glanced around for a way out. He didn't know what to say. Was his father really a murderer? Finally, one of the girls spoke up.

"Sirius Black wasn't a murderer, they found out he'd been framed. It was some mouse looking man . . . Peter Pettigrew. Fudge revealed that in an interview, remember?"

"Right," Pansy said loosening up again. "Peter was the murderer. It was a shame that Sirius had to die because of him, though. I know the ministry's in a load of trouble for convicting him on false charges."

Scipio suddenly wanted to get up and leave. He'd had enough ice cream and socializing with simple girls. He stood up and left, even after the girls whimpered and pleaded. "I've really got to go, I need to meet Malfoy back in town."

Scipio walked aimlessly through Diagon Alley, and looked through the window of the quidditch shop. He wasn't really looking at the brooms, though, he was thinking about his father.

Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Fred, George and Mrs. Weasley came into Diagon Alley together, but they separated and soon it was just Harry Hermione and Ron going to buys supplies. After they'd picked up their books, Ron and Harry wanted to look for quidditch supplies. Hermione insisted upon going to Gringotts to look into her account. Harry went from window to window looking at the different broomsticks. He'd seen a nice upgrade of his own Firebolt and walked towards the back of the shop to buy cleaning supplies. Harry stood froze in his place wwhen he saw who was standing there facing the wall, staring at an ancient Comet-Two-Sixty. 

It was Sirius.

****************************************Scipio*************************************

Scipio was ready to leave the store when he heard someone call out "Sirius!" Scipio turned around, in disbelief, seaching for his father, but all he saw was a boy with untidy black hair and jet green eyes . . .and a lighting shaped scar. . .

It was Harry Potter.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Both boys stood frozen in place and stared open mouthed at each other for what seemed to be almost an eternity. It was Scipio who spoke first.

"You're Harry Potter?"

"Yeah, I'm Harry. Sorry, I thought you were –"

"Sirius Black?"

"-Er, yeah. Nevermind."

Harry had turned to leave when Scipio called out to him.

"You know about my father?"

Harry spun on his heels and gaped open mouthed at Scipio.

"Sirius Black is your father?"

"I'd think the correct tense is 'was'. He's dead now, isn't he?"

"Yeah," Harry said still gaping at Scipio. He was in utter disbelief . . . Sirius never told Harry he had a son. . . 

"Sorry, I'm Scipio. I figure you already know my last name, eh?"

"Yeah. Why haven't I seen you at Hogwarts before? Why had Sirius never told me about you before?"

"I'm supposing he didn't even know I existed. That's why I'm here in London. I want to find out more about my father. My mother died in childbirth and I haven't got anybody else left in the world but my aunt and cousin."

"Your cousin?" Then the fact draped around Harry like a cold wet blanket. "Draco Malfoy is your cousin?"

"Yeah, I'm staying at their home this summer. You know Draco?"

"Yes the miserable little prat knows me," a cold voice said from behind Harry. 

It was Malfoy.

"You! What are you doing here?" another voice said from behind Malfoy. It was Ron.

"Shopping Weasley. It's what people with money do, though I'm sure you wouldn't know that."

"Get lost Malfoy. Nobody wants you here!" Ron said pulling out his wand.

"Actually, my cousin might want me here." Malfoy said with a slight smile.

"Cousin? Who's your cousin? Harry, is that Sirius? What's happened to his eyes? No wait, that isn't Sirius, is it?"

"No," Scipio said, eyes directed at the floor. "I'm not Sirius Black. I'm his son."

"Son? What? Sirius had a son? I didn't know that!" Ron said, scratching his head, staring hard at Scipio.

"There are a lot of things you don't know, Weasley." Malfoy said with a sneer on his face. "I'd love to stay and chat, but Scipio and I have to be going to buy him a broom. He's going to be playing of the Slytherin quidditch team."

"Dumbledore said I had to be sorted first, Draco-"

"Never mind Dumbledore, he's just a cracked old fool."

"And your father is a dirty murderer." Harry growled, wand at the ready.

Draco stood there dumbfounded and then growled. "At least I have a father. Mine didn't die for a useless cause!"

Harry leapt towards Malfoy and thrashed him soundly into the display cabinet. Scipio looked alarmed.

"We've got to break them up!" Scipio exclaimed in fear.

"Why? This is a Kodak moment. Almost as good as the time Malfoy turned into a bouncing ferret!" Ron said, nibbling on chocolate frogs.

Scipio reached for his wand but both Harry and Malfoy screamed "No!" The two boys immediately let go of their death grips and stood up. Malfoy now had a bloody nose and Harry had a badly cut lip. 

"Come on, Scipio. We can buy your broom another time!" Malfoy announced walking out the store. 

Scipio looked at Ron and then at Harry and frowned. "I'll see you guys around, I guess."

"Don't count on it, Scipio!" Malfoy shouted from the front of the store. Scipio turned around and followed Malfoy out of the shop. Harry and Ron stood there in awe. Sirius had a son, and he was related to the most evil being next to Voldemort.

Scipio and Malfoy didn't speak much until they got back to the Manor. Even then, Scipio couldn't hold back the smirk on his lips when looking at how bad Harry had torn up his face. It was incredible. 

**End of Chapter 2. Don't forget to R/R. Any questions or suggestions are appreciated. Thank you.**


	3. A Bit of a Werewolf

**Author's note:** Small chapter to lead up to a pretty big one . . .I'm still reviewing some parts and sections that don't make sense . . .thanks for the reviews! 

Scipio and Malfoy hadn't spoken since the 'incident' in the quidditch supply store. He knew that the fight had sort of begrimed Malfoy's reputation around him as the 'man of the house' but Scipio didn't care one way or the other. He preferred to be alone when he traveled to Diagon Alley; he went once a day now, just to admire the Firebolt. He had to have one, one day soon. He'd thought time and time again to ask Malfoy to help him choose the best broom, but Malfoy seemed more interested in his two friends Crabbe and Goyle, two of the most ugly, ignorant and powerful boys Scipio had ever laid eyes upon. 

Scipio desperately wanted a broom, and very soon, he had only one week until he had to leave for the Hogwarts Express with Draco, Crabbe and Goyle. He had to taste the fresh air of freedom one last time, what if he was put into Slytherin? He knew he'd be miserable there. He contemplated all of this while sitting in a chair at Florence Fortescure's Ice Cream Parlor. He had just finished his eighth cone when a familiar voice called his name.

"Scipio?"

Scipio turned in his seat to see Harry, the redheaded boy and a new girl . . . he hadn't met her before.

"Oh, hi Harry. How are things going?"

"Fine I suppose. How are things at the Malfoy's?"

"Absolutely dreadful. I wouldn't mind Malfoy so much if he would just admit he was pummeled to death by you in the quidditch supply store."

"Pummeled to death, Harry?" The girl poked in. "You didn't include this in your story."

"Yeah, he was probably being modest. I don't know your names, I saw you at the shop," Scipio said, pointing to Ron with his available finger (the others were wrapped around his ice cream cone) "but you didn't tell me your name."

"Oh, I'm Ron, Ron Weasley and this is Hermione Granger."

"Pleasure to meet you, Scipio," Hermione said offering her hand, blushing slightly.

"The pleasure is mine, Hermione," Scipio said, after kissing her hand lightly.

Ron and Harry turned and made gagging faces at one another discretely. Hermione and Scipio didn't notice a bit.

"So Scipio, you're going to Hogwarts?" Ron asked, taking a seat across from Scipio.

"Yeah, Dumbledore managed to convince me. Seems a lot better than Kikaider, our school never had enough funds."

"Kikaider? Isn't that a school in Italy?" Hermione asked, sounding like a human encyclopedia.

"Yeah, that's Venice, Italy in direct location terms." Scipio added.

"You're from Venice? Why don't you have an accent?"

"I wasn't born in Venice. I ran away from an orphanage in Bristol when I was eleven, the orphanage forbade me to learn magic. I do speak Italian, though. It's my secondary language."

"Really? Could you say something in Venetian for me?" Hermione asked, taking a seat next to Scipio.

"Hermione, leave Scipio alone, he doesn't want to speak Italian to you for your entertainment. That's not why we came here." Ron said, eyeing Hermoine.

"Oh, why did you come here?" Scipio asked, nibbling on his ice cream cone.

"We were going to ask you if you wanted to hang out with us for a while, that is, if you aren't waiting around for Malfoy." Ron said, looking around, expecting Malfoy to pop out of the woodworks.

"No, Draco's with Crabbe and Goyle. Some kind of business they needed to take care of."

"Well then, why not? Come on and hang out with us for a while, Scip!" Harry said, punching Scipio's shoulder lightly.

"Scip? I've never been called that before. Alright, let's go."

Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Scipio walked around Diagon Alley. Scipio found it was much more fun walking in a group of friends rather than alone, and before long, the conversation turned on Malfoy.

"You and Malfoy are really close, huh?"

"No, not really. He's rather sneaky and he doesn't say much around me besides: move please or come to dinner. He's a bit spoiled."

"A bit?" Ron said incredulously. Hermione elbowed him hard in the guts.

"Yeah, he's right, Hermione . . . he's a pampered little prince. Malfoy's always gotten his way…I bet he's a teacher's pet."

"Pet. . .fine choice of words, Scipio…did Harry ever tell you of the time Malfoy got turned into a bouncing ferret?"

Scipio looked in disbelief at Harry who nodded his head. Pausing to laugh during the entire tale, Harry gave great detail of how many times Malfoy got bounced by Moody's wand. At the end of the story, everyone was in hysterics. Scipio let out a loud familiar laugh. Tears were coming from Harry's eyes as he laughed with him. Scipio suddenly noticed Harry was crying and asked what was wrong.

"You laugh just like Sirius! You bark like a dog!"

"I laugh like a dog? I laugh like my father . . ."

"Has anyone shown you pictures of your father?"

"No, Aunt Narcissa said they were somewhere in the house, but she didn't seem in a rush to find them."

"I have one in my pocket, I figured you'd be here again today."

Harry slipped the photograph to Scipio. Scipio looked at the picture in disbelief. He did look just like his father! The nose, the hair, the smile, the incredible height…it as all there…except for the eyes…Scipio had his mother's eyes. Luckily he had a picture of her.

"Lately, I've wondered why he just abandoned me and Mum . . .he doesn't sound like the same guy you guys describe."

"Yeah, I know . . . Sirius wasn't the kind of guy to not take responsibilities for his actions."

"I wouldn't know. I wish there was somebody left who knew my father well enough to tell me . . . somebody like your Dad or Mum . . ."

"There is! Lupin's still around! He would know!"

"Then what are we standing around for? I'd very much like to find out some details . . ."

"Sure thing Scip, Let's go back to the Burrow . . . Lupin and the rest of your Guard are supposed to be visiting today . . . remember Harry?"

"Great! I'll go . . . I'll have to talk to Aunt Narcissa when I get there though, I might be pretty late coming back home."

"You actually call her Aunt?"

"Well, she is . . . let's go! I can't wait any longer!"

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Scipio (now called Scip) traveled by floo powder back to the Burrow. Fred and George were playing what looked like a fifth round of exploding snaps and Tonks, Shacklebolt and Moody sat in the living room, sipping butterbeers. Fred and George looked up to acknowledge the visitors then did a wide-eyed double take at Scipio. Ron made motion for Fred and George to not say anything, but George screamed out in disbelief.

"Sirius???"

Tonks, Moody and Shacklebolt all sputtered on their butterbeers. Tonks actually choked on hers and dropped the glass down to the ground, where it shattered into tiny splinters. For a moment, there was silence. Then, Scipio, feeling it proper to correct the red-headed twins managed to squeak out his name.

"No, not Sirius, Scipio. . . his son."

Tonks stood up and ran into the kitchen (nearly toppling over Fred and George getting there) to get a better look at Scipio. Her eyes watered over and she wiped the stray tears from her eyes, smiling brightly.

"S-Scipio? S-Sirius's son? I never knew . . . lord in heaven, he looks just like him," Tonks said, choking back tears ". . . all but those eyes . . . look at those eyes."

Suddenly realizing she was acting very weak, she wiped her eyes and pulled a hankie out of her pocket to blow her nose. Then, to Scipio's great surprise, she squeezed him tightly in a bear hug, as if she never wanted to let him go. Seeing the great confusion upon Scipio's face, Tonks began to explain.

"I'm your . . .oh what are the relations in genetics? Your rather distant cousin . . .seems that stealth and tracking aren't my only weak spots, huh Harry?"

"Who's Lupin?" Scipio asked trying to remove himself from this sort of attention. Sure he was ecstatic to find he had more family, but this was a mouthful.

"He's not here," Tonks replied, still sniffling back tears.

"Not here? He told us he'd be her today. . . along with the rest of you."

"Ah, well Ron, it seems Lupin's _overbooked _his calendar . . ."

"What do you mean?"

"Well . . .it's rather difficult to explain. . ." 

"Lupin, how do I put this is a bit of a-"

"Werewolf." Tonks finished, rolling her eyes. "Honestly, you people would think you've never been around Lupin under a full moon."

"A werewolf?" Scipio muttered to himself. What kind of people had his father been associated with? Cool the police wanted him, thumbs up that he knew the boy-who-lived, but being best friends with a werewolf? Now that _was _wicked!

End of chapter 3. Don't forget to R/R . . . any questions or suggestions are appreciated! Thanks!


	4. The Lost Prophecy

"When will I be able to see him? It only lasts as long as the full moon lasts, right?"

            "Correct. Why are you in such a rush to see Lupin anyway?"

            "He figures Lupin can tell him things about Sirius . . .tell him why his mother never left more about him than the clue in his last name."

            "Probably because of his wretched table manners," Tonks said, smiling as she blew her nose. "I don't even know . . . you're right about seeking out Lupin . . .he's likely to know more than the rest of us do."

            "So like I said before, when can I see him?"

            "I think I could take you over there now, if it's truly as urgent as you make it seem."

            "Are you foolish woman? He's not right! He's not in his right frame of mind right now! Oh yeah, I'm sure he wants to talk . . .after he gobbles you up whole!"

            "As creepy as Mad-Eye makes it, he's right, Tonks. You'd be a fool to disturb Lupin while he's in this state. If you go, I'll go with you."

            "Ah, you leave us with no choice then," Fred said, dusting off his sweater in an elegant fashion. "We'll go too."

            "No you won't! I can see you two jerking a bone in his face or something . . . you two aren't right. No way, not on Merlin's beard." Moody growled.

            "Can we go?" Harry asked, pointing to Hermione and Ron.

            "Well . . .I suppose it's of no harm . . ." Tonks said hesitantly. 

            "Hold on, Ronny-boo-boo-head gets to go and we can't?" Fred said stomping his foot on the ground.

            "That's injustice!" George chimed in.

            "That's sense. Now come along you all, we don't want to get there too late . . . he'll be apt to be more moody than he already is." Shacklebolt said calmly.

            "The order!"

            Scipio and the others landed in a small apartment flat, dimly lit with candles all around. It gave the apartment a spooky appearance and Ron suddenly wished he'd stayed home."

            "What are you all doing here?" A voice said from behind them all.

            Everyone jumped and turned their wands in the air at the unexpected guest . . .Ron's mother Mrs. Weasley.

            "Oh Molly, it's just you. We have a visitor for Moon- I mean, Lupin."

            "A guest? Where? Sirius? Is that you? In Merlin's name!"

            "That is Scipio, Sirius's son. . . but that is another story best told when we're out of here. Can you take Scipio up to Lupin's room?"

            "It can be arranged . . . you've gotten here at a good time, he woke up just a few moments ago. He's in a bit of a mood now-"

            "MOLLY! WHERE IS MY DINNER? I WANT MY DINNER!" a scratchy voice growled from the top of the stairs.

            "That is no way to speak to me, Lupin! Get some manners. . . you have a guest."

            "To eat?"

            Scipio gulped heavily. Ron and Hermione made their way closer to the fireplace.

            "No, Sirius's son."

            Suddenly, the voice got very silent. In a more gentle tone, Lupin called out.

            "Sirius's son? Sirius has no son."

            "Yes he does, apparently, and he has some questions for you to answer."

            "I see. Bring him up, Molly. Don't open the door at all. . . I'll talk to him from behind it."

            "We weren't planning on opening your door anyway."

            "We? Who else is here?"

            "Shacklebolt, Tonks, Moody, Ron, Hermione and Harry."

            "Send the rest of them home. Keep Harry here with me and the boy."

            Harry gulped and looked nervously at Scipio, who was turning white with fear, even with his dark tan. Mrs. Weasley led them up the steps to a large steel door with a slot opening on it. A sign had been put up that said "It's that time of month again . . .not like that, you sicko." Unsure of what to say, Scipio knocked on the door and waited.

            "Hello Harry and-"

            "Scipio."

            "Scipio . . .that's a nice name . . .is it Italian?"

            "I think so, I'm really unsure."

            "Hmm. . . you came here to ask me some questions about your dad. The reason I asked Harry to stay is because some of the things you may be seeking he may know better than even I do. Now, I'll need a bit of information on you first, Scipio . . . something to work with, my memory isn't that sharp, but names can help trigger a memory or two. What's your mother's name?"

"Millicent Dickinson."

            There was a pause and then Lupin's voice grew very soft.

            "I remember Millicent. She and Sirius went out during their seventh year of Hogwarts. I remember we used to call her Millie. She was a very secretive person . . .even James and I wondered how she'd gotten to be with Sirius. Tall brunette with shocking blue eyes. . ."

            Harry thought for a moment. He'd seen a picture of her somewhere before. In his parent's wedding album.

            "I have a picture of her in my Mum and Dad's wedding album. . . I remember her now, the same eyes as Scipio. If I'm not mistaken, in that picture, she stood with Sirius beside her."

            "Wedding day . . .yes, that's it! The last time Sirius ever saw Millie was on your parent's wedding day, Harry! Sirius spent a very long time searching for her. . . she was never seen or heard from again."

            "You mean my Mum is the one who ran off?"

            "Oh yes. Sirius was devastated she left. I think he had wanted to marry her one day."

            "That's odd. . .wait a moment, I have a hypothesis." Scipio said, scratching his chin.

            "Okay, shoot." Lupin said.

            "What if my mom ran away because she found out she was pregnant?"

            "Why would she run away then? Wouldn't she be apt to ask Sirius to marry her?" Harry asked confused.

            "Maybe. . .but what if she didn't want him to know he had a son?"

            "You mean, keep your birth hidden?" Lupin asked puzzled.

            "Exactly."

            "It still doesn't make much since. I can't see a woman running away, knowing she's pregnant with a child from a man she knows loved her. It doesn't make since."

            "Wait a moment. . .Millie got a prophecy before she left . . .she'd been having strange dreams and she wanted to know what they meant." Lupin said dreamily. 

            "What was it?" Harry and Scipio asked in unison.

            "I don't know, she never said. Didn't even tell Sirius . . ."

            "That's got to be the reason why, then . . .it's got to be whatever was in that prophecy . . .it scared her away from Sirius." Harry said, now scratching his chin too.

            "Then we've got to find it." Scipio said, sliding his back down the door.

            "Where could we find it?" Harry asked.

            "The Department of Mysteries?" Scipio asked. "Your country has one too, right?"

            "We have one, but I don't think it'd be there, Scipio.  More extreme prophecies go to the Department of Mysteries. You'd probably have to seek out the person who gave your mother the prophecy."

            "How would I do that? Aren't there a lot of fortune tellers and whatnot all around London, not to mention, the world."

             "We'll do a hunt. Sure there are a lot of people who claim to have the sight, but there are a registered list of individuals who have been certified. I could do that while you both are at school."

            "You'll have to keep me informed at all times, Lupin. I feel as if my life depends upon this prophecy."

            "That's not a good sign, Scipio." Lupin said wearily from behind the door.

            "Well then, I'd better find out what it said then, huh? Come on Harry, I need to be getting home. Thanks Mr. Lupin for your help."

            "Just call me Lupin, Harry does anyway. But that's because he has no manners."

            "Whatever. Let's go home, Scip. I'll go with you home." Harry said, walking down the steps with Scipio not too far behind.

            Harry and Scipio went into the fireplace and called out "Malfoy Manor." They landed with a huge thud in the gigantic fireplace, where Draco stood waiting.

            "Draco, sorry I've been so long, I was-"

            "You should really pay attention to the friends you make, Scipio. You don't want to be hanging around Potter these days, especially with the rise of Voldemort at hand."

            Scipio shuddered. _Obviously in Kikiader, they didn't speak of Voldemort's name either_, Harry thought to himself.

            "I'll be leaving now. I just wanted to make sure Scipio got home safely."

            "No worries Potter, he's in my hands now. Now get out of my fireplace before I call the police."

            "I hear you Malfoy. I'm leaving."  But before he actually did leave, he called out to Scipio. 

            "I'll see you on the Hogwarts Express. If you want, I'll save you a seat."

            Then he disappeared. 

            "What was all that about?" Narcissa said, coming into the hallway.

            "Nothing mother. Scipio's home."

            "Oh good. I was worried- oh, never mind. Get to bed, the both of you. I want you to get into the habit of sleeping at a decent hour. I don't expect to send any howlers to Hogwarts this year, do you hear me, Draco?"

            "Alright mother . . .I'm going to bed."

            Scipio stood alone staring at the empty fireplace where Harry once stood. Would he take Harry at his offer? Would he ever find out why his mother had kept his father in the dark? Would he ever leave Malfoy Manor? At least he could answer one of these questions, he'd be leaving for Hogwarts in a week's time.


	5. The Train and the Sorting

**Author's note:** Forgive the stupid Sorting Hat song . . . I'm not much of a lyricist . . . but I needed to switch up the words a bit for future story plot. I still don't own J.K. or Cornelia Funke, which is all right I guess, because that's one less person I have to hold hostage in my basement. George Bush is enough . . .but let's not discuss my issues, that' not why you're here. Here is chapter five. Enjoy and please review.

**************************************Harry*********************************************

Harry was a bit disturbed to find that Ron and Hermione had gotten their O.W.L.'s back in their Hogwarts letters. It must have slipped Harry's mind somehow, with all that had been happening, meeting Scipio and all. But as the week turned quickly into days, Harry wondered if he'd ever find out what his grades from last year were. But the day before he left, Harry received an owl, one directly from Albus Dumbledore himself. Hermione and Ron peered over Harry's shoulder, anticipating and worrying at the same time.

            "Of course Dumbledore hasn't forgotten about Harry. I'm sure he's just been um, sorting some things out."

            "Yeah, you're right Hermione, Remember what Harry told us McGonagall said she'd do anything to help Harry become an Auror. . .maybe she's working out some kind of deal with Snape, not to mention the damage she had to undo after Umbridge-"

            "Don't mention that name anymore, Ron. It makes me absolutely disgusted and delirious. I hope the old hag's thrown herself off of a building after all the things she's put Harry through . . .I take that back, even throwing herself off of a building is too good of a death for her!"

            Harry and Ron stared open-mouthed at Hermione for a matter of seconds. 

            "What?" Hermione said snappily.

            "I've never heard you talk about a professor that way, you sounded almost the way Harry and I sound when we're discussing somebody like Snape or Malfoy." Ron said in awe.

            "It was rather scary, Hermione." Harry said, holding back a giggle.

"Oh put a sock in it, you two! What does it say Harry?"

            Harry read the letter aloud.

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_By now I am sure you have realized that Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger have received their O.W.L.'s and that you have not. Due to issues with an incompetent Defense Against The Dark Arts professor last term-_

"Damn Harry, you're screwed." Ron said, sitting back from the letter as if he knew what it was already going to say.

"Ron, shut up! Continue Harry."

_            I have managed to grade you, based upon your own extra-curricular lessons with students (whom, may I add, scored higher than usual on their finals). _

"See Harry, I knew breaking the rules would pay off in the end, I knew it!" Ron said proudly, as if he'd never been surer of himself before in his life.

            "Ron, if you don't shut-up, I'll hex you!"

                        _Your final grades are enclosed in this envelope. I trust you'll be very proud of yourself._

Harry was worried for a brief moment. If he hadn't made at least an "O" in Potions, he could very well forget about becoming an Auror. He'd just about given up reading the letter when Ron pointed out to a message on the bottom of the paper.

            "Look Harry, look what it says!"

                        _Good luck furthering your training as an Auror._

_                        Albus Dumbledore_

"Harry, that must mean-"

            But Harry was miles ahead of Hermione and looked over his grades:

            Charms-O

            Care of Magical Creatures-A

            Divination-A

            Defense Against the Dark Arts-O

            History of Magic-A

            Herbology-A

            And finally, there it was. . . 

            Potions-O

            "WHOOPIE!" Ron shouted, doing a deranged sort of victory dance on the floor.

            "Harry, you did it! You'll be able to continue pursuing your career as an Auror!"

             Harry stared at the grade one last time in disbelief. He was sure he had failed . . .all of those zeros must have counted for something, yet he'd managed (or Dumbledore had managed) to receive an O! He didn't know what do, or even say. Ron managed to speak for him.

            "Tonight, we light all those fireworks Fred and George have been creating in their joke-shop! It's time to celebrate!"

            Fred and George came around the corner and brought a great mound of caldron cakes and chocolate frogs. When they saw the confusion on Harry's face, they explained.

            "As soon as we found you'd gotten your letter from Dumbledore, we knew what it was for." Fred explained, lifting the tray higher in the air so Ron couldn't reach to eat a single sweet.

            "If you hadn't made it, he was going to give you a pile of dragon dung instead." George said, pointing over at Fred with the giant tray of sweets.

            "Not _me_," Fred said, looking hurt. "_We_ were." George winked at Harry mischievously and set off one giant firework, right there in the living room.

            It was easily the best moment of Harry's life.

The summer months had gone too fast for Harry's liking. He enjoyed his freedom, his ability to do almost whatever he pleased, and in five minutes time, he would once again ride the Hogwarts' Express to Hogwarts and all those who resided there.

            Harry fastened Hedwig's cage to the trolley, along with his Hogwarts' trunk and other belongings. Beside him, Ron, Hermione and Ginny did the same thing. In that order, they all disappeared casually through the barrier, reappearing upon platform nine and three-quarters. 

            Once again, the scarlet steam engine sat there, motionless with great puffs of billowing smoke coming from the smokestack. It seemed more inviting today; the sky was a gentle calm blue and the sun didn't even shine as brightly as it ought have. It wasn't too chilly or too warm today, just right. It was just the right day to symbolize the end of break. He and Ron loaded their luggage on the train while Hermione went to find seats. Harry realized now that he and his friends were soon to part, they were prefects and he was not. 

            "Well, we'll see you at the feast, Harry."

            "Yeah, I'll see you then."

            "You're sure you don't mind?"  

            "I made it through last year, didn't I?"

            "Yeah, after you had to sit with Luna Lovegood the whole ride to school." Hermione said, giggling.

            As if on cue, Luna dreamily glided by the three friends, nodding her head in acknowledgement to Harry and Ron, hen thrusting a picture into Hermione's hands.

            "I told you I'd get a picture of a Crumple-Horned Snorkack, didn't I, Hermione?"

            Hermione simply rolled her eyes and pocketed the picture. There, was a shadow of a creature, nothing too spectacular about it, it could have been anything. She handed it back to Luna who in turn gazed off into space and walked down the train until she found her own compartment.

            Harry waved his friends off and sat in his compartment alone, doing nothing but twiddling his thumbs, waiting his arrival at Hogwarts.

                ***************************************Scipio*********************************************

            Scipio managed to get on the train with ease; it was finding a compartment that wanted him that seemed to be the issue now. Oh _sure_ there was room in most of the compartments, but he was as welcomed as rain on a parade. He could see the glares, hear the whispers, feel the awkward silence and it made him _sick_. He'd wished he _hadn't_ told that group of gossipy girls who he was, it was undoubtedly them who were spreading around who he was: _the son of a convicted murderer_. It didn't matter to people that his father _was_ innocent; it was the fact that he'd _been _convicted and spent _thirteen years_ time in the highest guarded wizarding prison in the world that made them worry. It made them worry about genetics. . .it made them worry about _him_. Picking up his luggage, he made his way towards the front of the train and knocked on the compartment door before entering, meeting the person he thought he was least likely to see there: Harry Potter.

            *~*~*~*~*~*~*

            "Hey Harry, didn't expect to see you here."

            "Hey Scip, if you mean that I'm not with Draco or the rest of the Prefects, it's because I wasn't chosen to be one."

            "You're joshing me! You above all people _not_ qualified for the job? Now I _know_ my ass is going to Slytherin."

            Harry and Scipio chuckled for a moment.

            "What house do you want to get sorted into?" Harry said, crossing his arms and leaning back into his seat.

            "I don't know too much about Hogwarts, but I do know whatever house Draco _thinks_ is slime is the house I need to be _in_."

            "Gryffindor?"

            "Yeah, that's the name of it. He said you were in it."

            "Yeah, I'm in Gryffindor and so are Ron and Hermione, that's partially why Draco can't stand us. Draco was born to be a Slytherin, it's a most horrible house to get sorted into, and they say all witches and wizards who are sorted into Slytherin end up going over to thee dark side."

            "From what I've seen, Draco's already on the dark side, Harry." Scipio said darkly.

            "What do you mean?"  
            "Draco's been acting strange lately, disappearing in the middle of the night and saying that he had to go do something. Until recently I've thought nothing of it. . ." Scipio looked outside the window uncomfortably. 

            "What made you think twice?"

            "He's got the tattoo, Harry. It's perched up on his left-arm like some sort of trophy . . . and if I'm not terribly mistaken, which I don't think I am, Crabbe and Goyle have them too."

            "Bloody hell. . .it's really begun then."

            "What has Harry?"

            "The Second War."

            Both sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity, until the snack trolley came around.

            "I'll take one of everything, ma'am." Scipio said, giving the witch a handful of coins.

            "Same here," Harry added.

            The rest of the trip was lighter and more pleasant for the two boys. Harry shared his adventures at Hogwarts with Scipio and Scipio shared stories of Venice and Kikaider with Harry. The two found they had many things in common, favorite colors, foods, and even similar dislikes: Malfoy. 

            "You know what I thought of you when I first met you?" Scipio asked Harry with a sneer.

            "What?"

            "I thought you were going to be some spoiled little brat who desperately craved attention."

            "What? Well I'm far from spoiled, and I can't stand the attention I get, sometimes I wish I could just get rid of this stupid scar for good." Harry said, pulling back his hair to reveal his scar.

            "I know what you mean . . .minus the stupid scar thing."

            "You're getting a taste of fame?"

            "Yeah. And I did nothing to deserve it. . . the way people stare makes me just want to bomb-rush them all . . . make them stop staring at me for a second and ask me my name . . .it happens it isn't _Sirius_."

            "Yeah, I know what you mean, the stares are what makes it really difficult. I still can't cope with them sometimes."

            "Must suck to be you."

            "You have no idea."

            Harry laughed randomly at Scipio and Scipio pulled out a mirror to look at his face.

            "What? Do I have a booger hanging out my nose? What is it?"

            "I wonder if this has all been pre-ordained somehow, that we'd meet."

            "And become good friends too."

            "It's probably got something to do with our parents being Marauders."

            "What? Marauders?"

            "It's a long story, but I think we've got the time."

            Harry told Scipio the tale of the Four Hogwarts Marauders and the havoc they unleashed, what he'd seen in Snape's Pensieve and the Marauder's Map, pausing to hear Scipio's comments and laughter in-between ("Dingy old boxers? Ha!"). By the time Harry had finished his story, it was time for the train to come to a stop. Quickly throwing on their robes, they headed off the train and onto the threstral-driven carts. Apparently, Scipio could see them too and asked what they were, unknowingly. Harry only told them that they were a type of magical creature that drove the carriages. Scipio didn't have to know why he couldn't see them; it would only bring him misery.

            The two boys made their way up the steps of the Hogwarts castle, where they were taken inside the castle. Harry was leading Scipio over to the Gryffindor table, but Professor McGonagall interceded. 

            "Scipio Black I presume?"

            "Yes ma'am."

            "Call me Professor McGonagall. If you would, follow me over here towards the sorting hat with the first years."

            "Professor, you aren't going to make Scip, I mean Scipio get sorted with the first years, are you?"

            "Is it at your disapproval Mr. Potter? Scipio will be sorted as all other Hogwarts students who enter this school. No exception. Though he will be properly explained by Dumbledore and sorted before the first years are."

            "What? Hey, public humiliation was nowhere in the contract Professor McGonagall, I'm not so good in front of crowds . . . and an introduction? I don't know."

            "Oh hush now, it's not as if you'll be the one speaking. Besides, I'm sure you'd rather have Dumbledore explain why you're being sorted with the first years. It could be rather embarrassing being seen with them, I'm sure."

            "Alright then, see you around Harry."

            "See you Scip."

            Harry took his usual seat beside Hermione and Ron, who had saved an extra seat for Scipio, just in case.

            Scipio made his way over to the crowd of first years and stood in the front of the Great Hall. He was, by far, the tallest and oldest person there, at least by two or three heads. Some students had begun to snicker while a few pointed in realization of who he was. The girls mostly whistled. Scipio, who had talked so horribly about receiving attention, took the time to wink at a few seventh-year girls sitting at the front of the table. Dumbledore noticed and smiled. Then, he stood and the hall became very quiet. Dumbledore had never spoken before a sorting before; it was a very silent moment.

            "I know most of you are wondering why I have interrupted the sorting ceremony. As many of the seventh-year young ladies have noticed, a sixth-year young man stands in the midst of these young ones here. Not to worry, he is far from _slow._"

            A few giggles came from the girls at the heads of the tables. Dumbledore continued.

            "Before you stands a transfer student from Kikaider School of Witchcraft and Wizardry of Venice, Italy. Some of you may already know him as Scipio Black."

            A few murmurs and pointing and then Dumbledore continued.

            "I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Black in Venice, Italy over my vacation. He intended to rob me."

            More fits of laughter erupted. 

            "But instead, I brought him back here to Hogwarts to show him what a genuine learning environment we have. Now that I have introduced Mr. Black, we will begin our _regularly _scheduled sorting, followed by my _usual_ commentary of the year." Dumbledore finished quite dully. 

            Professor McGonagall sat the Sorting Hat upon its stool and to the first-years' amazement, it had begun to sing. Scipio yawned.

            _For those of you who've been here,_

_            And heard the sorting song,_

_            I do regret to inform you:_

_            This year it's all gone wrong._

_            The unity sought last year,_

_            Happened more or less I'd say,_

_            But you'll need to join together,_

_            To prepare for a future day._

_A prophecy foretold,_

_            Must this year be fulfilled,_

_            I say with great deal of sorrow . . ._

_            That one of you may be killed._

_The tides of time are vicious,_

_Not strongest man can stand,_

_Without the help of his fellow brother;_

_Offering his hand._

_For now I will continue,_

_And sing my little tune,_

_But know that a time of darkness comes,_

_It comes very, very soon._

_Now Gryffindor is for the bravest;_

_The most courageous with great heart,_

_And Ravenclaw for the talented;_

_The oh-so-very smart._

_In Hufflepuff it's said those who work_

_Are most worthy of admission,_

_While those who crave for power_

_Are often sorted "Slytherin."_

_Now slip me snug about your ears,_

_I've never yet been wrong,_

_I'll have a look inside your mind,_

_And tell you where you belong!_

 

     "Hmm, rather short this year." Harry said, joining the afterward clapping of the song. He had been disturbed about the line about the prophecy foretold saying one of the students here would be killed. He prayed silently that the hat wasn't referring to him.

"Yes it is, with the same warning as last year too, about unity between the houses." Hermione said looking solemnly at the hat.

            "Well the old hat might as well stick post-it notes to each of our foreheads, because the day when Slytherin and Gryffindor are all 'chummy-chummy' is the day Snape gives Harry a hug." Ron said, pointing over to Snape, who now wore his patented glare at Scipio.

            Professor McGonagall was now unrolling a large scroll of parchment.

            "When I call out your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool. When the hat announces your House, you will go and sit at the appropriate table."

            "Black, Scipio!" Professor McGonagall announced without so much as looking at the parchment. Apparently, Dumbledore wished to sort Scipio first to get him out of the way.

            Scipio made his was over to the stool and slouched over, tilting the hat to one side of his face like some sort of joke. Professor McGonagall rolled her eyes and awaited the hat's decision. 

            ***************************************Scipio*********************************************

            This was by far the weirdest thing Scipio had ever done. Besides the time he dressed in drag . . .but that was another story.

            _ Hmm, you've got the cunning and bravery of your father, you know. Your mother was a bit of a quiet one. Well, that makes you even easier to sort._

            _Just as long as you don't put me in Slytherin, _Scipio thought, smiling towards the Slytherin table.

            Yes, you are your father's son, he thought the same thing after his cousin was sorted a year before, Bellatrix Lestrange. Well if you're sure it'd better be. . . 

            ***************************************Harry********************************************

            What on earth is taking him so long? Is he telling the hat a joke? He's taking almost as long as I did . . .I just hope he's not sorted into Slytherin. . .anything but Slytherin . . .

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

            "GRYFFINDOR!" 

            "Yes!" Ron and Harry screamed above the crowd. There was an immediate uproar of laughter and clapping from the Gryffindor table and Harry could just make out the look of disgust and shock from Malfoy's face. Snape was now glaring from Scipio to Harry in contempt. But not even Snape could ruin the occasion as Scipio joined the Gryffindor table along side Harry. _This was going to be one heck of a year_, Harry thought as the sorting continued.

He couldn't have been more right.

Or more wrong.

**Author's note:** I told you this was going to be a long chapter, it wasn't really. I was going to separate it into two small-sized chapters: The Hogwarts Express and then The Sorting Hat, but I liked the way it looked when it was one big chapter. Don't forget to R/R because it's kind of stupid to go through the trouble of writing a story when it hardly has any reviews. Thanks! Chapter 6 up soon!


	6. First Impressions

Author's note: This chapter is going to be one of the last that is uploaded directly after another is uploaded because I'm getting a job! Whoopie! But you can still count on me to work on the story when I get home and when I have. . .the time. I plan to have finished the story by at least the middle of August, so there shouldn't be more than at least fifteen chapters coming out. Thanks for your support! 

            ***************************************Harry*******************************************

            Harry looked at Ron and Hermione's schedules the next morning and frowned. Hermione was taking Advanced Muggle studies instead of Potions and Ron was taking Dueling instead of Potions. Luckily, he was still taking Divination with Harry and he'd see Hermione in all of his other classes. He hadn't seen Scipio all morning, when he and Ron woke up the next morning, his bed was abandoned and his comb thrown into the sink. 

            "You reckon he's a bit odd?"

            "Why, because he gets up earlier than we do? Yeah."

            "Maybe that, but sometimes looking at him is like looking at Sirius years younger. He acts just like him, does things just like Sirius did and I just find it all a little de-ja-vou, you know?"

            "Yeah, I know what you mean. He's like Sirius as a kid. It's a shame he never got to meet his father, though. They'd have had some real laughs."

            "Maybe it all works out for the best, though. You know, like some great master plan."

            "I hope so. I really do hope so, Ron."

            ***************************************Scipio*******************************************

            Scipio was a very focused student. He'd been very active in his pursuit of education because he one day wanted to be in charge of Italy's Ministry of Magic. He'd be able to start wizarding orphanages so that no child would have to run away to study magic like he did. Compared with some of the students in Hogwarts, Scipio was genius. Most people figured this out when Scipio was on the Gryffindor schedule for the N.E.W.T. potions class. Scipio couldn't have been more delighted. Potions was his favorite class and he'd be off to a really good start because Harry would be there too. Between the two of them, Scipio was certain he would pass this class with nothing short of an O. 

What he didn't know was that his professor would make their lives a living hell.

            Scipio ad Harry walked to class together that day to Professor Snape's dungeon-like classroom. Scipio found the room fascinating, all of the different vials of potions and ingredients lined upon shelves like candy in a candy store. Harry had more than once warned Scipio of Snape's attitude towards anybody outside of his own house, and his particular hatred towards Harry. Harry seemed almost certain that Snap would focus his hatred on Scipio just because he was Sirius's son, but Scipio thought it a bit extreme. Professor Snape was a grown adult. He couldn't possibly still be holding onto childhood grudges, could he? 

            The bell rung immediately after Scipio and Harry had taken their seats in the rear of the classroom. In walked what was undoubtedly Professor Snape, a greasy haired hooked nose man of at least forty. Scipio remembered this man from the sorting, he'd looked none too pleased with Scipio and he even caught what he thought was a snarl. Quickly deciding to make a good impression, he pulled out his quill and parchment and faced towards the front of the nearly empty classroom.

            "I see mostly everyone decided to drop potions this year," Harry muttered, pulling out his own quill and parchment.

            "Yeah, I noticed the room was a bit empty from the get-go."

            "Your cousin is here."

            "Great . . .just wonderful," Scipio muttered, looking at Malfoy through the corner of his eye.

            "There will be no tolerance for any of you this year," Snape announced as he glared over the halfway empty desks. "You know how I handle business and you know how to handle yourselves accordingly. You should also be very knowledgeable about your potions this year, all of you receiving the highest marks in your Potions classes."

            Scipio saw Harry take a slight breath inward. Perhaps Harry hadn't studied over the summer.

            "You should also know that you will be competing for grades in this classroom. I expect it to be a back-breaking experience for each of you, but do try to catch up, or you may find yourself on academic probation." Snape said this smiling directly at Harry and Scipio's direction. 

            "We'll begin our potion brewing today. You will be creating a potion of your choice from page one-seventy-seven in your Advanced Potions book. Each of you will create your own potion, no pairing up today. At the end of class, each of you will test your own potion in front of the classroom. I'd suggest you pick something simple, Potter, we wouldn't want you to brew a permanent sleep potion, would we?"

            Scipio saw the Slytherin half of the classroom giggle. Harry only looked more intently at his potions book. This made Scipio rather angry.

            "Sir, if you wouldn't mind, why don't we try Harry's potion on me?"

            Harry gaped at Scipio's face, trying to mutter something like "No, you shouldn't have said that!" Snape caught Harry's terrified look and curled his lip into a smile.

            "Mr. Black, perhaps you are unaware of Mr. Potter's poor ability to make even the simplest of potions work."

            "If that is so, it must have been due to an incompetent professor," Scipio said snappily, smiling furtively.

            Silence hung in the room, eyes shifting from Professor Snape back to Scipio.

            "Fifty points from Gryffindor, Mr. Black, for not knowing how to hold your tongue. You are obviously just as simple-minded as your father, he couldn't hold his tongue for even a matter of seconds."

            More giggles erupted from the Slytherin table. Scipio opened his mouth to retaliate, but Harry elbowed him hard in the gut and they soon got down to work. Scipio noticed Harry go for the simplest potion on the page, a potion of wisdom. Scipio went for the most difficult potion on the page, an invisibility potion, which could go horribly wrong if not paid close attention to. Scipio slowly added the ingredients, stirred the potions at just the precise speed and temperature and found he had time to read a book while it came to a slight simmer. His potion was exactly the right color, a very thin silvery liquid that smoked slightly. Harry noticed and smiled at him, now making absolutely sure that nothing went wrong with his potion, for Scipio's sake. At the end of class, Professor Snape called the two boys up to the front of the classroom. 

            "Show us what disaster you've made this time, Potter."

            Scipio handed Snape his own potion.

            "He made this, an invisibility potion. Harry's rather good at brewing potions, it must be that he cannot do them correctly when people hover over his shoulder and critique his every move."

            Snape looked from Harry to the potion and then at Scipio. His eyes flamed with great loathing and if his eyes were loaded pistols, Scipio would without a doubt have been lying on the floor, dead. Then surprisingly, his snarl turned into a great grin.

            "That's very bold, Mr. Black. I'm sure Mr. Potter wouldn't mind telling the class how he did the potion then, would he?"

            Harry looked downcast at the floor, expecting the worst. Scipio didn't know what to do or say. Now, Harry would look like a fool because he didn't know how Scipio created the potion. Just as Harry opened his mouth to confess what he'd done, the bell rung and the students began to walk out of the classroom. Scipio and Harry smiled at each other and Snape growled in anger. But before the two boys made it out of the classroom, Snape called out to them.

            "That was very brave Mr. Black. Very brave and very stupid. Tomorrow, you and Harry will be separated for the remainder of the semester. Then we will witness with our own eyes the great potion brewing abilities of Harry Potter. Good day."

            Harry and Scipio ran out of the room and took a deep breath. Finally, Harry looked at Scipio and grinned.

            "Thanks Scip, I owe you one, whenever you need it."

            "I have a feeling that the time will come soon enough, Harry. I'll keep you at your word."


	7. Of Friends and Quidditch

**Author's note:** Great fight scene ahead! I might need help on deciding what to do at the end, but I'm sure you'll suggest ideas and your opinions. I'm grateful for the reviews I've gotten, you all made my day! ;) Chapter 8 should be up soon, if I can make up my mind on how to make the plot go. Okay! Here it is!

            *************************************************************

The cool September air twirled around Harry like a cyclone. The sun was just rising in the distance and not even Peeves the Poltergeist had awoken, which led Harry to wonder why on earth Professor McGonagall had called him to the quidditch field the night before at dinner. She gave no clue to what Harry would be doing there or why she even called for him to be there. All she said was this:

            "Meet me on the quidditch field at five o'clock sharp, Potter. You'd better not be late."

            As the quidditch field grew closer and closer, so did the shadow of Professor McGonagall, marching back and forth like a mechanical army man. She looked up saw Harry and smiled. Harry breathed in deeply. At least he was not in trouble.

            "Good to see you on time for once, Mr. Potter.'

            "Same to you, Professor McGonagall. But would you mind if I asked you just what on earth we're doing here at five o'clock I the morning? What could not wait until about noon? It is after all, a Saturday."

            "Yes, the first Saturday in September. You know what this means, don't you, Mr. Potter?"

            "No, what?" Harry asked, now scratching his nose, because he now noticed a broomstick from behind Professor McGonagall's back.

            "Oh, tell me you're joking! Quidditch try-outs are being held this weekend, Potter! And, now that about a third of the quidditch team has left, including the quidditch captain, we're in need of a team. Which is why I call you here today."

            Professor McGonagall handed Harry the broomstick from behind her back. Surely it was not what he thought it was –but there it was- a Firebolt 1000. Harry stood gaping at the broomstick, not even lifting a hand to touch it, as if it were a gift sent from heaven. Professor McGonagall smiled after seeing the expression on Harry's face.

            "Along with this broomstick, Mr. Potter, I give to you the position of Gryffindor quidditch captain. The responsibility of the team is now bestowed unto you, along with my blessings. I can only ask one thing of you."

            "What would that be?"

            "Get Gryffindor the quidditch cup. There will be sheets posted all around the Gryffindor common area. I'm hoping that your name alone will bring out some of the greatest Gryffindor quidditch team since-your father."

            Harry smiled and took the broomstick, still amazed and shocked as ever. After finally composing himself, he found the courage to ask Professor McGonagall one question.

            "How did you know I'd accept?"

            "Potter, what fool wouldn't accept the offer of a Firebolt 1000? Now, go back to bed. Try-outs begin at 10:00 sharp and I expect you here by at least 9:30."

            "Yes Professor McGonagall! Yes Ma'am!"

            Harry ran back to his dormitory beaming, unable to go back to sleep.

            *************************************************************

            Scipio awoke early the next morning, for some reason, he felt he had to; both Ron and Harry had left him asleep and gone down to breakfast. Muttering silently, Scipio made his way to the bathroom, hair strung all over his very sullen and moody face and emerged a perky well groomed young man, throwing himself out of the dormitory and out into the breakfast hall, where he was surrounded by flyers of many colors. Flyers of green and scarlet stood out more than the other two colors. Wondering to himself, Scipio made his way to a scarlet flyer and picked one up. There, on the sheet, was Harry, diving for a snitch most beautifully, making a single handed catch. Underneath was a message: 

            Try-out for Gryffindor quidditch with Harry Potter today at 10:00 am on the quidditch field! Positions available: Beaters (2) and Chasers (2). Hurry and reserve yourself a position on the team!

            Scipio smiled and jauntily strode over to the Slytherin table where he was met with open hostility. Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle looked up and unsuccessfully held back what was an unmistakable gagging noise. Malfoy looked up and smiled, however.

            "What do you want, Gryffindor Cousin?"

            "Not much, Slytherin Cousin. I just wanted to know if we were still up for buying my broom next Hogsmeade weekend."

            "That's next Saturday, why would you need it so soon, pray tell?"

            "Because by then, I'll be on the Gryffindor Quidditch team."

            Silence hung in the air and stares were exchanged from Malfoy and Scipio.

            "You're trying out for Potter's team?"

            Malfy, Crabbe and Goyle laughed hysterically, pretending to almost hit the ground in their laughing fit. 

            "Yes. I can't try out for your team, now can I?"

            "Well, if you insist upon being the laughing stock of the school, let me ask what position you play."

            "I can play any position, I prefer to play keeper, but that position is taken already."

            Malfoy made out what seemed to be an undeniable grin of malice.

            "There's absolutely nothing holding you back from that position, Scipio."

            "There most certainly is, it seems to be taken."

            "No, Potter's just waiting to replace someone on the team who can't play: even if there was a galleon prize depending on it, and that says a lot."

            Pansy Parkinson and others now joined in the chorus of laughter.  Scipio was under the impression he had their approval for some odd reason and he didn't like it. Still, Draco said the position was open for somebody better than there already was, he had to steal the opportunity. 

            "Well, I'll need to borrow your broom then, Draco."

            "Borrow? If you take that position, I'll let you keep my broom and buy you another broom in addition!"

            More Slytherins joined in the chorus of laughter. Feeling this was a time to go, Scipio retreated to the Gryffindor able, where Harry, Ron and Hermione sat.

            "Hey guys! Harry! You didn't tell me you were quidditch caption for Gryffindor! I want to try-out today!"

            "Are you any good? I'm going to see some really bad ones today, Scip, and I can't stand the aggravation. The way it looks so far, I can get you in for a try-out around noon, my block is full. Can you do that?"

            "I can do that and more!" Scipio announced sitting next to Hermione who was now picking up her books. Instantaneously, all three boys asked the same question at the same time.

            "Where are you going?"

            "It's a Saturday, Hermione!" Harry bellowed, trying to reason with her.

            "Tell me you're not going-!" Ron began.

            "To the library, yes. I want to study extra hard for a test on Friday in Muggle Studies." Hermione finished.

            "Hermione, that's ridiculous! First, you're a muggle-born! Second, it's a Saturday, the test is on a Friday! That's six weeks!" Harry spat, clearly on the brink of annoyance. 

            "And time is still ticking away, Ron. You boys go about your quidditch and whatnot. I'll be in the library, should Scipio make the team or break his neck."

            "What about me?" Ron asked, hurtfully.

            "If you're hurt, I'll come out in a few hours to make sure you're dead." Hermione said, lifting herself from her seat and walking of towards the library.

            The three boys watched her leave and smiled to themselves, purely unaware that they were all having the same thoughts: _I'd gladly trade places with one of Hermione's books any day. _

            "So Harry, twelve you say?"

            "Yes, right before I go to lunch. Ron and the rest of the team will be there as well, in case you're worried about nerves."

            "Oh now Harry, you know me by now! The more people there are to impress, the better I am."

            "Scipio, are you always that sickly charming?"

            "I do it for-"

"Yes, we know-"

"The ladies."

            All three boys laughed and helped themselves to seconds on breakfast.

            *************************************************************

            Harry was very leased with himself. Today, he'd found what seemed to be at least 3 good beaters and two good chasers. Wood and Angela would have been proud, not to mention Fred and George, who closed their shop for lunch just to watch the try-outs.

            "Bloody good day, isn't it Harry?"

            "Yeah, and the players aren't that bad either!"

            "You'd wonder where all these people have been hiding all this time!"

            "Probably away form you two, you were rather-"

            "Intimidating?"

            "Malicious?"

            "Mischievous?"

            Frightening?"

            "And the list goes on and on, you two."

            Just then, Scipio walked onto the field, reluctantly being trailed by Malfoy and a gang of Slytherin sixth years. Harry shook his head, feeling sorry for Scipio. He had to live with the git and probably now put up with the string of teases coming next. But surprisingly, Malfoy handed Scipio his broom and the Slytherins sat off under a tree, watching, laughing and muttering. 

            "What are they here for?" Ron spat out at Scipio.

            "I needed a broom and Malfoy said I could borrow his. I didn't expect to be trailed out here, if that's what you mean."

            "You could have borrowed my broom, Scipio, all you had to do was ask. But that's no problem; you're the last try-out of the morning. What position?"

            "Keeper."

            "You can't have that position, that's-" Ron began.

            "Somebody else's position, I know, Draco told me. But what if I was better than that person, you know what I mean?" Scipio added at Harry, winking.

            Harry saw Ron's face turn a shade of red that would have made his hair blush. He looked over at Malfoy and understood now: Malfoy wanted Scipio to take Ron's position just for the fun of it, and Scipio had no idea that this was Ron's position. Not wanting to be too obvious yet to the Slytherins, Harry told Scipio to mount his broom. Ron was furious.

            "You can't do that, Harry! That's my position!" Ron muttered angrily.

            "Don't you see why the Slytherins are here now, Ron?"

            "No, probably just to ensure that Scipio gets my position!"

            "I'll tell you afterwards then, but in the meantime, remain calm."

            Scipio mounted his broom and as soon as Harry had blown the whistle, her was off at the rings, gliding though the air with greatest of ease. When Harry blew his whistle, Fred and George beat balls towards the rings.

            Scipio must have been superhuman, because the way he blocked every single ball was unnatural. He would block a ball and send it flying, and return to his calm stature as if it was the easiest thing he'd ever done. Blocking every single ball that Fred and George blocked had to be a feat and even the Slytherins looked up in astonishment. When it was all over, claps erupted from the Slytherins as well as some the Gryffindor members. Harry tried to maintain a straight face, but he was astounded. He couldn't have expected what had come next though.

            Ron had flung himself onto Scipio, pounding punches after punches and Scipio, who was a great deal taller and stronger, returned the heavy blows. He boys were on the ground when Fred and George came to break them up. Ron had a black eye and Scipio a bloody nose and lip. Harry stood in fear of what the two might say after they realized what had happened.

            "You-no-good thief! That's my position!"

            "Well obviously you couldn't have kept it up so good because you're the one beating me up for giving a spectacular performance!"

            "Spectacular? Ha! My sister can keep better than that!"

            "Hey!" Ginny announced, both angry and surprised that Ron would put her in this.

            "I think we'll let Harry be the judge of that, won't we, Harry?"

            Harry stood frozen in place. He was in the worst predicament he'd ever been in between his two friends. He couldn't deny that Scipio was a great deal better a keeper than Ron, but the position was Ron's. Maybe he would have given it over before, he didn't much like the position anyway, but after Scipio's words and spectacular playing, he'd not see to it that Scipio was even put on the team. 

            "Harry? What do you say to all of this?"

            "I need to think for a moment, you two are sickening. I'm not even sure if I want to play quidditch captain for a team of thieves and barbarians who fight like drunken sailors!"

            Harry stormed off leaving Ron and Scipio at each other's throats with only Fred and George between them. He made a beeline for Malfoy under the trees.

            "You! You told Scipio he could try out for Ron's position, didn't you?"

            "Well, you needn't fuss, Harry, we both know Scipio's ten times better than on. Or are you just blinded by friendship with the Weasel?"

            "I would beat the crap out of you, but there's been enough bloodshed on the quidditch field today. I hope you're happy, Malfoy. This is your dream come true, isn't it? You're such a spoiled self-absorbed little prat! I almost feel sorry fro your father!"

            Malfoy flung himself on Harry and they rolled in the ground, pulling each other's hair and exchanging powerful blows to the head and gut. Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape came over to break up the fights. After weighing the injuries carefully, they sent the boys to the informatory without lecture and got everyone off the field, with the exception of the Gryffindors and Slytherins who'd seen the fights. When Professor McGonagall came in moments later, she held a scowl on her lips, annoyed.

            "I have heard what has happened and what I say is this: you made asses of yourselves!"

            Ron, Scipio and Harry jumped at hearing Professor McGonagall curse. Malfoy only smiled. 

            "I have figured out how this whole incident occurred, Mr. Malfoy and I regret to say you've been let off the hook. Had you been in Gryffindor, I would have banned you from quidditch permanently. But for you three who are in my house, a month's detention with a decision from you, Harry."

            "What decision, Professor McGonagall?"

            "Who gets the position of keeper and the one who gets the boot."

            "What? No! I can't do that! They don't know how this started, it wouldn't be an issue! It was Malfoy's doings, Professor! You can't have me choose like this!"

            "I'm afraid you must, Harry, unless things can be resolved here."

            Professor McGonagall strode out of the room and left Harry storming mad.

            "You three are so insolent and so . . .sickening! My life would have been better of if I hadn't known any of you! Ron and Scipio, you've fallen for the stupidest trick in the book! Malfoy wanted you two to have a brawl, which is why I asked you to remain calm when Scipio tried out, Ron! Scipio, you listened to your evil conniving cousin and your own thick skull when Draco told you that position was available! I know you read the flyers! I honestly don't know what to do now! If it were between me, I'd kick both of you off! But I'll trust when we get out of here, this thing will die easy. Am I right?"

            "Yeah."

            "Whatever."

            Harry turned to his side and grunted. Of all the topics he couldn't handle, he got stuck with the category of between friends and quidditch.   
  


            *************************************************************

**            Author's note:** I don't know what's ahead, but I figure it'll be good. Stay tuned and don't forget to review!


	8. The NotSoNew Professor

**Author's note:** I'm so sorry, Caution! I'll try to update more frequently . . . lol. I'm actually still in the process of writing this story, so please be patient; I know you have been, lol. I've done an outline and there will be 12 chapters I still have to upload and one chapter of end credits and thanks, so I'm really working super hard, here! Just relax! Okay, here goes chapter 8!

Harry was already very tiresome during the second week of school. Between a month's worth of detentions with Professor McGonagall, managing a quidditch team, (for which he still had no beater) patching differences between Ron and Scipio, completing three parchment's worth on an essay for Snape and the threat of Voldemort still at hand, he had all the reason in the world to be tiresome. Ron and Scipio had agreed to some extent of friendliness, but Harry and Hermione could feel their cold and hostile glares that they exchanged during any class they had together. Harry felt it would continue until one of them got the position of Keeper on paper. Since Harry did not want to become involved in their affairs, he turned to Hermione for comfort. Hermione was a great friend, but fun times were often cut short for trips to the library. Harry suddenly looked forward to his Defense Against the Dark Arts class, even though nobody had met the teacher yet.

Unlike Snape's Potion's class, Defense Against the Dark arts was full, everyone who had taken the class in previous years was here now, even the Slytherins, who were rumored to not be afraid of any dark magic that would come their way. Every single desk in the room was full with the exception of the professor's seat, which had not been sat in yet by the professor himself.  

            It was rumored that the new professor was badly sickened with an illness and wouldn't start classes until late October. Whatever the reasons for his/her absence, the students were left with a substitute for an hour, where they did nothing but read from the textbook . . .until that fateful Thursday morning. 

            Scipio, Hermione, Harry and Ron (in that order) sat down in their usual seats and opened their textbooks, expecting another dreary day of taking notes and reading text. Then, after a period of fifteen minutes alone in the room, the air was filled with whispers, joking and eventually loud talking.

            "I wonder what's taking Professor Vector so long . . . he's usually always on time." Hermione announced, flipping though her textbook as if to find some interesting reading.

            "Yeah, it is a bit odd . . .maybe he's caught whatever the new teacher caught." Harry suggested, helpfully.

            "Perhaps, but it isn't likely. If he's sick, he's sick of teaching this class." Scipio said, peering over from Malfoy to Ron.

            "I'd be sick too, having to see Scipio everyday." Ron said, looking Scipio dead in the eyes.

            "Watch it, Weasel!" Scipio said, standing, pulling his wand out of his robes. Harry and Hermione stood up as well, trying to calm the two boys down.

            "Bring it on, thief-lord!" Ron said, now pulling his own wand out of his robes. 

            "Yes, please do, but can it wait until after class is over Mr. Weasley and Mr. Black?"

            Ron, Scipio, Harry and Hermione spun on their heels at the sound of the unannounced visitor, but he didn't much need an introduction to them:

            It was Lupin!

            "Lupin?"

            "Professor Lupin, Harry. Now, kindly take your seats so I can begin today's lesson."

            The four sat in their seats flabbergasted and spoke no more.

            "Now, where to begin . . . ah yes, an introduction. Well, I'm sure you all have had me before as your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher before in your er, third year. But for those of you- "Lupin paused to smile at Scipio "–who weren't here to meet me, allow me to introduce myself as Professor Lupin."

            Pansy Parkinson squirmed in her seat, clearly very uncomfortable at the mention of the Professor's name. 

"But aren't you a-"

            "Yes, Pansy, I am a professor at Hogwarts."

            The room was filled with giggles and murmurs from the Slytherin half of the classroom, but if this seemed to disturb Professor Lupin in the slightest, he didn't show it.

            "I've been performing various tasks for the Ministry of Magic this past week, which is why I've been absent. But you can rest assure we are going to start this year in full throttle. Harry, Scipio, if you two don't mind, why don't you uncover that large box in the back of the room. I'm sure you all are dying to see what's inside."

            Indeed they were, and had been ever since they saw the large covered crate with big bold letter reading "Do Not Touch." Harry and Scipio rose from their seats and pulled off the covering sheet. The class was filled with great gasps of terror and awe immediately.

            Inside the crate were creatures, at least nine feet tall with razor sharp claws and dagger-like teeth that they bared at all students close enough to the crate. Long matted stringy fur poured into the creature's face, hiding more of its distinct features. Each was a pale green color and had long black noses and black slit-like eyes that could move individually. Ron toppled backwards in his seat and fainted, but nobody noticed, everyone seemed to be staring at these strange beasts in the rear of the classroom.

            "Thank you kindly Scipio and Harry. Does anyone know what these things are?"

            Instinctively, Hermione raised her hand.

            "Yes Hermione?"

            "It's an Orc, professor, though I thought these creatures have been extinct for ages! They look rather-young."

            "Yes, Hermione, it is rather young. These Rocs are only a few months old. I fear to say that they've been bred over the past month or so. Bred to be used as killing machines. The sad part is that they aren't being bred by us, but rather for Lord Voldemort's war upon all that is good in our magical world."

            Gasps of fear were exchanged among the students and looks of utter fear were clearly shown. Professor Lupin looked at the floor in sorrow. It was clear that Dumbledore had given him the orders to talk about these dangerous creatures that were being bred as a precaution. Harry could only imagine the things that had to be racing through Professor Lupin's mind. 

            "Though this is very unfortunate, we must learn to cope and deal with the inevitable as best we can. This year, you will be faced with new terrifying creatures and newly released spells that the ministry has come across in the past years. It is an effort that both the Ministry and Hogwarts feel strongly about. It is my duty to teach you how these curses and creatures work, are avoided and to teach you any mechanism of self-defense that I can. It will be a frightening experience that many of your will never forget but never regret if you should ever be thrown in the pits of peril. Today, we'll start with the Orcs and gradually we will move up to even more dangerous creatures and curses. I only ask you to forgive me for what you will have to see and go through."

            The class sat in absolute silence as Professor Lupin taught them about the Orcs, their destructive nature and way of life and what a person should do if they were to ever encounter one. In pairs of eight, everyone had a chance to face the Orcs, though no group truly stood a chance. When the bell rung, the students slowly picked up their belongings and headed towards the door. Harry turned his back to look at Lupin one last time. He was covering the Orc crate and shook his head, slowly shedding tear after tear. If Lupin was worried, Harry knew that _none_ of them would stand a chance against such horrible creatures. He was certain.

And _afraid_.

_Sorely afraid_.

**Author's note: **That's one down twelve to go! Thanks for the reviews and suggestions!****


	9. Risky Buisness at the Halloween Dance

**Author's note: **I didn't realize how hard it is to write a story and update it until recently! But count on me, I will stay true to my promise to you. This chapter marks some very interesting events so . . .enjoy! And if you're just tuning in and haven't reviewed yet, please do so! Thanks!

            **************************************Harry*********************************************

            September rolled in and out of Hogwarts like a storm and soon, the only event on students' minds was the Halloween ball. To Harry, October marked the end of detentions with Professor McGonagall and a string of quidditch matches. Though he sorely missed talking to Ron and Scipio, Harry found that he could concentrate better in Potions and he was actually becoming very good at brewing his potions, even getting A's on his potions (which had to be a series of firsts). Harry's schedule was as full as ever, having quidditch practice with the Gryffindor team every Monday Wednesday and Friday with the occasional Saturday practice after a Hogsmeade trip. 

The team was extraordinary and there was nothing holding Gryffindor back from taking the quidditch cup this year, besides the tension between Ron and Scipio on a day-to-day basis. Harry had given the open position to Scipio and left Ron his position as keeper because it was the fair thing to do, but every now and then, when Ron wasn't up to par on his keeping skills, Scipio would be sure to slip out some snide remark and the boys would soon be at it over and over again. Harry soon accepted it and gave up trying to bring the boys together, acknowledging it as the way things were. Hermione wasn't satisfied in the slightest and had even started distancing herself from the two boys, which turned into yet another feud: who had chased Hermione away. Harry could only pray that by the time of the Halloween dance, things would get somewhat better.

**************************************Scipio*********************************************

Scipio was very tired of arguing with the "Weasel" but until Ron admitted that he, Scipio was twelve times a better quidditch player than him, it seemed that the war would be fueled and go on forever. But today, Scipio had more important things to do than pick at the "Weasel". He had to find a date to the Halloween dance . . . by _tonight_. 

It was just another beautiful sunny October morning, and Scipio had just awoken to the sounds of Harry groaning in his sleep with the usual screams and arguments with himself. At first, Scipio had thought it mighty odd and almost frightening, but when he asked Harry about it, he felt relieved that Harry wasn't doing more than screaming in pain in his sleep. Harry had been tortured beyond belief and if he screamed out in his sleep every now and then, it was perfectly understandable. Scipio made his way to the bathroom where he took a nice long shower and brushed and teased his hair until it had finally achieved its usual standard of excellence. Quickly throwing on a light-blue sweater and a pair of slacks, because Ron was starting to wake up, he scurried down to the Gryffindor common room to _mingle _with the ladies.

"Hey Scipio, the Halloween dance is tonight and I was wondering if you had a date yet."

"Gee, I would, but I'm taken already." That was his reply to anyone below the sixth year or somebody who didn't appeal to him in particular. Scipio felt if he was to go to the school dance with a girl, he was going to go with the prettiest most intelligent girl at Hogwarts.

Do not ask why that certain girl was Hermione Granger. 

**************************************Ron*********************************************

When Ron woke up, he heard Scipio sneaking down the steps. Waiting until he'd left the room, Ron went directly into the bathroom to find a horrible mess of towels strewn across the floor, toothpaste around the rim of the sink and countless hair-care products that belonged to Scipio. Last night, Ron almost added a hair-loss potion to the teeth of Scipio's comb, but Harry banged upon the door and called him out of there after seeing the open page in the potion's book and the left-out ingredients. 

"Ron, I know you and Scipio have your differences, but leave his hair out of it! I swear the two of you will kill me before Voldemort ever gets the chance!"

Ron picked up his wand and muttered _scorgify _and soon the entire bathroom was spotless again. Ron really disliked cleaning up after Scipio, but it always gave him something to nag about. After showering and dressing, he had a mind to finish what he couldn't finish the night before, but Harry gave a sound knock on the bathroom door.

"Ron? Is that you? Could you hurry, I really have to go-"

"Alright, alright Harry! Just let me brush my hair, we have practice this morning?"

"Nope."

"This afternoon?"

"Ron, have you lost your marbles? It's Halloween!"

"No way, you're joshing me . . .I've been marking off my calendar for weeks."

"Not for Halloween. It says you've been counting off the day until Scipio dies. . .Ron!"

"Oh come on, Harry, I wasn't serious!"

"How would I know? The way you two carry on from day to day. Oh and Ron, don't use the purple towel."

"Why not?"

"Scipio's bewitched it. It'll make you turn purple."

Ron looked into the mirror and screamed. His brightly colored red hair stood out against his vivid shade of purple skin. 

"I'm going to kill him! Where is he?"

"Now Ron, don't get carried away, it can't be that bad…"

Ron flung the door open wide and showed Harry what _wasn't so bad_. Harry unsuccessfully tried to retain his laughter but ended up rolling on the floor in hysterics.

"Oh my god, Ron! You look like a Smurf!"

"Smurfs are blue, dumbass, I'm violet! What am I going to do? I can't go anywhere like this, I still need a date for the dance!"

"Well, you can always tell her you were in the festive spirit, maybe she'll buy it."

Harry toppled over backwards and kicked his legs in the air frantically, dying with laughter.

"Who were you trying to ask, anyway?"

"Hermione."

Harry stopped laughing and looked dead at Ron.

"Really? Um. . . I take it you haven't asked her yet, huh?"

"No, that's why I'm in such a rush to meet up with her today."

"Well. . . Why don't you ask out Lavender or Paravati? They don't have a date to the dance."

"I wanted to ask Hermione, Harry. . . to be honest, I kind of . . .like her."

"Oh, I see. Well, you didn't hear this from me, but you might want to find Hermione and fast."

"Why? Are there other guys clawing over Hermione?"

"No . . .Just Scipio."

Ron growled and tore out of the dormitory in rage. There was no way Ron was going to let _him _take her to the dance. There was no way in hell!

**************************************Scipio*********************************************

            Boy was Hermione a hard one to find! Scipio had searched the Owlry, the library, the great hall, outdoors and he'd even tried to sneak into the girls dormitory, all in vain! Where could she be? 

            It was then that Scipio heard great fits of laughter. _What in Merlin's name is going on?_ Scipio asked himself, wanting to get a better view, he pushed his way into the Great Hall. What he saw made him laugh.

There was Ron, as purple as . . .well, Scipio had never seen anything that purple before.

            "Hey Ron, nice costume!" Scipio called out to Ron who was accompanied by Harry and a very flustered . . .Hermione!

            Ron began to stand up, but Harry whispered something in his ear and he sat down reluctantly. Scipio's little prank had gone better than he'd expected, he'd thought that Ron would only turn one shade of purple rather than eight. Scipio slowly made his way to the table where Hermione glared reproachfully at him.

            "Hermione, I've been looking for you everywhere! I had something to ask you!" Scipio said, sitting across from Harry and Ron.

            "Well I have a feeling that what I'm about to ask her is ten times more important than anything you're going to ask her so I'll go first!" Ron yelled at Scipio looking back at Hermione with great interest. 

            "Will you go to the dance with me?" Both boys blurted out at the same time. Then they lounged for each other and were once again in a scrap on the floor of the Great Hall. This time, nobody had to break them up; Hermione's loud screech was sufficient. 

            "No! I will not go to the dance with either of you, always fighting and yelling and competing about everything! I already have a date to the dance!"

            "Who?" Ron, and Scipio asked, dusting themselves off and sitting back down at the table.

            "Actually, I'm going with . . .with . . .Harry!"

            Harry looked at Hermione with obvious shock. "You are? I mean-you are!"

            "How come you never told me, Harry?" Ron asked in disappointment.

            "Because he can never talk to you or Scipio without some kind of shouting match evolving in some way, shape, or form, that's why! Now, if you will excuse me, Harry and I have some planning to do!"

            Hermione grabbed a hold of Harry's arm and dragged him out of the Great Hall with everyone staring.

            **************************************Harry*********************************************

            "Smooth one, Hermione, I was afraid they were going to turn one another into mincemeat!"

            "Yeah, well, now that I have to go to the dance with you, I'll have to put my studying on hold. They are really starting to get out of control with this whole feuding business and I don't know how much more of it I can take!"

            "At least you don't share a dormitory room with them! They're like a bunch of psychos!"

            "We have to do something about the two of them and quickly, before somebody looses and eye! Skin tone is enough! But, I have to admit, Scipio did a number on Ron when he did that towel prank, it was rather funny."

            "You should have seen what I caught Ron trying to do last night! Brewed a hair-loss potion and was seconds away from adding it into Scipio's hair gel."

            "Oh, that's awful! Well, at least we can look forward to a semi-good night tonight, though I was actually planning on going with Ron."

            "You were? You know, he really likes you . . .you all should take your relationship with one another to a higher level . . .it might work out."

            "Maybe I will, but he has a lot of maturing to do. Now, let's go prepare for this dance!"

**Later that night. . .**

            Harry was waiting at the bottom of the girls' dormitory steps for Hermione. They'd both agreed to wear the oddest things they owned in their closet. Harry wore a pair of Dudley's Smelting pants and a glitter tube-top he'd rented from Paravati Patil so he could look like Brittany Spears (unsuccessful by the way). He couldn't prepare himself for what Hermione had chosen to wear, however.

            Hermione had her hair sticking straight up in the air and overdid her makeup entirely. She wore a long pink dress with big ink stains and (was that owl droppings?) all along the front. Even from the top of the stairs, Harry could tell she was dressed as Frankenstein's bride. Harry and Hermione toppled over backwards laughing.

            "You look absolutely . . .gay!"

            "And you look absolutely beautiful. You should try this look after Halloween as well . . . you even smell better."

            "Oh shut up! Who did dumb and dumber find to go to the dance with?"

            "Scipio is going with Paravati Patil, she told me when I was trying on her .  . .er . . .tube top. Ron isn't going to the party."

            "What? Why not?"

            "He doesn't have a costume . . .or a date."

            "The poor thing!"

            "I told him he could borrow one of my long white T-shirts and go as Tom Cruise and say her was imitating a scene from Risky Business, but he didn't understand the humor in it. He's never seen the movie."

            "Oh, that would have been awfully funny. I'm just upset that he chose to miss out this year."

            "Yeah, me too."

            Harry and Hermione walked into the Great Hall where everyone was dressed in the most outrageous outfits. Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall performed some kind of conjoining spell to make them appear to be conjoined twins. Dumbledore seemed to be having the time of his life and Professor McGonagall seemed to just be there because she had to. None of the Slytherins dressed up for the occasion, Harry quickly noticed. That didn't stop them from commenting on everyone else's outfits. 

            "Ha, is that a mask? You're not wearing one? Oops!"

            Harry and Hermione quickly found Scipio and Paravati who were dressed like hobos who had come directly off the street.

            "Wow Harry! Dressed as Brittany Spears?"

            "Yeah! How'd you guess?"

            "The boobs."

            The dance was going smoothly and everyone was having the time of their lives, dancing and partying. Hermione and Harry were sweating like pigs by the end of the fifth song. That's when everything went haywire.

            The music stopped completely and the lights went off. The Great Hall was filled with screams and shouts (and even jeers form the gentlemen) and suddenly, a spot light appeared on the stage.

            There was Ron, dressed in only Harry's long white T-Shirt, a pair of white socks, black sunglasses and (his own) white knickers sliding onto the stage. The Hogwarts Great Hall erupted in screams and fits of laughter. Not even Scipio could hold back his laughter.

            Apparently, Ron had memorized the whole dance sequence to Risky Business and performed the whole scene to Hogwarts without a flaw whatsoever. The girls screamed, the boys laughed and the professors gaped open-mouthed, except for Dumbledore, who was imitation the moves with Professor McGonagall attached to his side. When it was all over, the Great Hall erupted in cheers and clapping. Ron couldn't get away from all the dance offers and when Harry and Hermione finally made their way over to him, he was flushed.

            "Your purple went away!" Harry said, pointing at Ron's skin.

            "Along with your pants! Ron, what on earth were you thinking?" Hermione said, in a giggly fit.

            "Well, I had to get your attention, Hermione." Ron said, pulling off his glasses.

            "For what?" Hermione asked puzzled.

            "For this."

            Ron pulled Hermione by the arms and kissed her fully on the lips. Hermione, clearly startled had no choice, but to hold on to Ron for dear life, or that's what she wanted everyone to think, anyway. The two kissed for what must have seemed like an eternity before letting go for a breath. 

            "Oh my god, Ron! What was that for?" Hermione asked, trying to sound surprised and disgusted. It didn't work.

            "I can't just kiss you?" Ron asked, raising his eyebrow at Hermione.

            "Well . . . you can, but not when I'm not expecting it! I nearly swallowed my tongue!" Hermione said, trying to fix her dress.

            "No, that was my tongue. So um . . . I guess what I'm trying to ask you is would you go out with me?"

            "After that display of . . .(interrupted by yet another kiss by Ron)  . . .sure, why not?"

            Harry could only giggle. This was perfect, Ron and Hermione together at last . . .and not a bad prank on his side either. He'd planted the towel so he could suggest the costume idea. Boy was he a genius!

**Author's note**: Hope you liked it! Totally all my idea! The next few chapters won't be as funny with the exception of one . . .the plot gets down to all seriousness now. Had to have a happy moment in what will be a very sad story . . .but cheer up, it may not be that bad . . . .Unless I kill off your favorite character, that is . . .oh well . . .r/r please!


	10. Hagrid's Visit

****

Author's note: It all goes downhill from here, folks. I wish I could say there would be some cheerful moments, but besides Hermione and Ron going out and Quidditch, it's going to be a lousy ending for the gang . . .sorry! I'll see what I can do about finding Scipio look-alike pictures since I got an email about him . . .Gosh . . .he's hot and it's only a figure of my imagination! LOL. I still don't own Harry and the gang and I don't own Scipio either (darn it!) but I'm working on it! Here's chapter 10.

**************************************Harry*********************************************

After Halloween, the only gossip going about Hogwarts was about Ron and Hermione, which suited Harry just fine. After Ron and Hermione had begun to go out, Harry noticed that Scipio was surprisingly on good terms with Ron, even forgetting to slip out snide remarks in practice and replace them with nice suggestions. Ron even stopped calling Scipio a thief, though it would occasionally slip out whenever Ron was missing a pair of socks or a hairbrush. 

Because the two boys were on such good terms again, the Quidditch team was doing better than ever and with a match against Ravenclaw in a matter of days, it seemed that the team was absolutely unbeatable. But even so, Harry bumped practice up to every afternoon for a period of two hours. The weakest part of the team lied within the keeper's goals, but between Scipio and Ginny (who Harry decided should get the post after absolutely no deliberation) whose beating skills were nothing short of miraculous, the team hadn't anything to worry about. Not even that Cho Chang was Captain of the Ravenclaw team.

Within hours of the upcoming match, Cho found her way up to Harry, flushing in what was clearly seen as anger.

"Y-you're the quidditch captain for Gryffindor I heard."

"You heard correctly then."

"Well I just wanted to let you know that I'm not going to go easy on you because of what went on between us last year."

"Great, I wasn't expecting you to. If we're going to beat Ravenclaw, it's going to be because we were better."

"You're so full of yourself, do you know that?"

"Me? _Full of myself?_ I wasn't the one who decided to come over here and bother myself, because if it _was _me who came over here to start bothering myself, I'd look like a total fool . . .sort of how _you're_ looking right now when you're pink with anger."

"You make no sense, Harold James Potter, but then again, you never have made much sense of anything!"

Cho gave Harry a wicked glare, but not before stomping on his toes and floating away even angrier than she was before she approached Harry. Harry swore to himself that he'd beat Ravenclaw no matter what it took, to avenge his now throbbing foot.

"All I have to say is that the team better be on the field on time today!" Harry grumbled as he stalked off towards the quidditch field.

**************************************Scipio*********************************************

Scipio bolted down the dormitory steps at full speed, Ron right on his tail. They were late for the quidditch match! Harry wanted them to be there an hour early and here they were up in the common room with fifteen minutes to go until the game!

"What in the hell were you thinking, Weasley? You've got time to go to the Great Hall in your knickers and ask out a girl but don't have time to set some kind of alarm so we can get up?"

"Don't you dare try to pin this on me, Mr. I-was-up-all-last-night-partying-in-the-common-room-and-didn't-leave-until-three-in-the-morning-because-I-had-to-catch-up-on-my-snogging-skills!"

"Well, let's just get down to the field! Damn, Harry is going to be really pissed off at us!"

"Yeah, he practically screamed in our ears last night to get rest because we needed to get up bright and early!"

"Well maybe he won't be entirely too pissed off . . . maybe he's in a good mood," Scipio suggested as they ran out onto the quidditch field and bolted into the Gryffindor locker rooms.

"Or maybe," Harry began crossing his arms and raising his eyebrows with the rest of the team standing behind him looking very angry "He's already really pissed off today because the two most . . .stupid people on the team couldn't make it to practice on-time for the eightieth time in a row! Come on you guys! At least you're in your uniforms! When we get off the field. I am going to clock each of you into next week . . .well don't just stand there, mount your brooms, Madame Hooch has just introduced the team!"

Scipio and Ron bolted out of the locker rooms with Harry following them out whizzing by on a Firebolt 1000. The team muttered some kind of good luck chant and as soon as Madame Hooch had blown her whistle, both the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw teams were up in the air, Harry and the seeker for the Ravenclaw team (boy did she look good) went higher up than anyone else and searched for the snitch. The crowds were cheering madly and soon their faces were unrecognizable, just tiny flecks of scarlet and purple.

Scipio and Ginny were definitely doing their best today keeping the buldgers at bay while the other half of the team took possession of the quaffle. From below, Scipio could make out Lee Jordan's very recognizable voice over the intercom.

"-Johnson's got the quaffle and passes it off to Haroldson who is a new member on the Gryffindor team. . . not to mention that beauty of a broom he's riding. According to Which Broomstick-oh? What was that Professor? Stick to the commentary? Very well, I just thought it was a rather good time to explain –AND GRYFFINDOR SCORES!"

"Yes," Ginny and Scipio jeered as they turned their brooms around and headed towards the Ravenclaw posts. 

"How do you think Harry's doing up there?" Scipio asked Ginny as he hit a buldger towards the Ravenclaw post.

"He'll do just fine, Scipio. He's never failed Gryffindor before, and he's an absolutely fabulous seeker."

"Sounds like he's never failed you either, Ginny."

Ginny blushed and knocked away a buldger that was inches away from Scipio's head.

"You worry about buldgers and leave the seeking to Harry." 

**************************************Harry*********************************************

The adrenaline rush of soaring through the sky on his broomstick was a long missed feeling for Harry. He'd been banned last year and the feeling of detachment between Harry and his broomstick was almost more than he could bear. But now when he was soaring almost eighty feet off the ground with no cares or worries, he forgot all about not feeling the rush, and not hearing the crowd's screams. He slowly snapped out of his relaxed set and began to flex his muscles. Cho Chang flew up beside him and rolled her eyes. Harry ignored her and continued to flex and search the skies for the golden snitch. He sat there on his broom for a good fifteen minutes before he saw the snitch glisten above the top ring on the Gryffindor's post. Harry kicked off and sped off towards the golden glistening above the post with Cho right on his tail.

_She's still pulling that same trick? _Harry thought smiling as he looked back on her. He immediately kicked his broom into a full-speed chase of the snitch with Cho lagging far behind. Second by second Harry advanced towards the snitch, he outstretched his arm and pushed all of his weight forwards. . ._five inches. . .four inches. . . three. . .two . . .one. . ._

Bam!

A buldger hit Harry square in the face. He was thrown viciously from his broom and landed mercilessly upon the hard cold earth.

But he had the snitch!

**************************************Scipio*********************************************

"Yeah! Go Harry! Go-go Go Harry!" Scipio chanted while doing a very disturbing victory dance on his broom.

"Shut up, Scipio! We just won! We just won! I knew Harry –I mean, we would pull it off!" Ginny said blushing profusely after mentioning Harry's name. Scipio winked at her and grinned. They'd won the game and now they were off to celebrate.

**************************************Harry*********************************************

_Who the heck is standing over me like that? He's got a big head . . .shaggy beard . . .big ferocious licking dog. . ._

"Hagrid!"

" 'Arry! I thought yeh'd never come out of tha' dreaming state! I came tah watch yer match n' you try tah kill yerself? Some things never change."

"Hagrid, why aren't you teaching Care of Magical Creatures anymore? Don't you like teaching at Hogwarts?"

"Well, it wasn' really a matter o' what I liked and didn' like . . .I figured tha' maybe I wasn' really cut out fer tah job, yeh know, being tha' I've nearly been sacked twice now. Besides, the ministry reckons I'm a bit too rough with the lessons. They say I don' know the difference between a mad beast an' a gentle one."

"Hate to say it Hagrid, but they were probably right when they said that. You really don't know the difference between a mad beast and a tame one."

Hermione, Ron and Scipio came running over to Harry and Hagrid helped him get to his feet. When Hagrid looked at Scipio with a puzzled face, Harry explained.

"Son eh? Yeh look like him, sure enough . . .just those darn blue eyes . . .familiar though, they are." Hagrid said looking rather past Scipio than right at him. Harry knew he had something very important on his mind.

"Hagrid, do you want to take a walk? Around the grounds?" Ron asked, putting his arm around Hermione's neck, looking ruffled.

"Actually, tha' is exactly why I came here today . . .really wasn' for yer game, I'm afraid."

"That's just fine Hagrid, but do tell us what you need to tell us. It does seem rather urgent." Hermione said with a look similar to that of Ron's.

"Yeh hit the nail on the head, Hermione. This was really just for Harry but now I see why Dumbledore said I'd have tah go about this in a very gentle manner," Hagrid said, nodding in Scipio's direction.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked, scratching his head.

"Well, Dumbledore an' the ministry have been looking into Sirius's death for a few months now, an' it seems that the ministry was corrupting the investigation all along."

"Corrupting? What do you mean?" Hermione asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Well, yeh see, while we have our inside sources in the ministry, You-know-who's got some as well. Seems they purposely tampered with Sirius's certificate of death." Hagrid said, twiddling his oversized thumbs.

"So? I don't understand. . .they messed up the filing. . ." Harry asked looking quizzically at Hagrid. 

"But you don' see, Harry. It makes all the difference in the world. According to yer statement and Professor Lupin's statement, Sirius was hit with a disarming spell an _tripped _behind the veil. The ministry put Sirius's reason of death under a killing curse."

"Avada Kedavra." Harry muttered, brushing his hair back with his fingers.

"Excatly. But there's a bit more, Harry. Somebody knew that Bellatrix had made a mess of things when she didn' kill Sirius. Yeh see, if Sirius had have been dead when he went through the veil, they would have had the perfect cover-up. But yeh see, Sirius wasn' dead. He tripped. So the chances are very likely that Sirius isn' dead at all. . .just somewhere –er in-between."

"Excuse me? _In-between?_ Like in Limbo or something? So let me get this straight," Scipio said pacing back and forth in a circle. "My father could very much still be alive? Just stuck in Limbo somewhere?"

"Tha' is what it looks like." Hagrid said, looking downcast.

"So then, why doesn't somebody go back in and get him?" Scipio asked, pausing to look up at Hagrid.

"Well, not much is known about what goes on behind that veil. See, there's always that possibility that somebody could off-set the balance of earth and the otherworld or even get trapped in limbo with Sirius." Hagrid said cautiously.

"Well _somebody_ has got to try! For god's sake, my father's stuck someplace he shouldn't be. What the hell are you people doing then?" Scipio said, getting into Hagrid's face, which was really a poor attempt because he only reached his chest.

"Scipio, I'm sure they're doing the best they can. I mean, if they knew what went on behind the veil, it wouldn't be in the Department of Mysteries, would it?" Hermione said, trying to calm Scipio down.

"Besides, I know Dumbledore. He's doing absolutely everything in his power to bring Sirius back, I just know it." Harry said brightly, though it was very obvious to see he was as distressed as Scipio.

"Well he must not be trying hard enough!" Scipio said, spitting on the ground and walking back to the castle. 

Harry, Hermione, Ron and Hagrid looked on as Scipio ran back to the castle. Harry didn't know what to say that would make Scipio feel any better because he didn't know what to say to himself to feel better. Sirius was stuck in limbo because of him, after all. If anyone had to go back to get him, it would have to be him.

**************************************Scipio********************************************

"Professor Lupin I need to ask you something."

"What seems to be the problem, Scipio?"

"Are you looking into the prophecy at all?"

"Yes I am, Scipio, it's really no help that we don't know who your mother saw that day."

"I understand, but please keep trying. Whatever was in that prophecy, kept my mother away from my father."

"Scipio, I fear it wasn't that she wanted to keep herself away from your father, but rather keep your father away from you."

"What do you mean?"

"I think your mother got a death omen that day she saw the seer. Something about your death and your father were interrelated, there's no other motive."

"Then I think we really need to find out what this prophecy read. For my sake and for his."

****

Author's note: I'm so sorry it's taken me forever and a day to post this for you guys . . .I've been super busy lately, but I am still working hard. The deadline is looking like the end of August and maybe even September now . . .I'm working hard! Don't forget to R&R if you haven't already. 


	11. Christmas Curses

**Author's note**: Hmmm . . . I happen to be out sync with my personal side, so nothing too interesting here. Ooh, I changed the title because I couldn't stand it anymore . . .sorry for any confusion I may have caused you. But never fear because the review button is still where it should be (hint hint).

**Disclaimer**: I don't own any characters, only the contents of the plot. The characters (with the exception of Scipio who belongs to Cornelia Funke) belong to J.K.Rowling.  

            **************************************Scipio*********************************************

                By far, Scipio had been the most miserable he'd ever been. He felt both angry and upset that Professor Lupin hadn't yet found who "the seer" was. And the constant attempts from Harry, Ron and Hermione to make him more cheerful and lively were beginning to make him more irate by the day. 

He knew he shouldn't take his anger out on them, they hadn't done anything to deserve it and were kind enough to offer help, but he didn't know what else to do. When he was isolated, he wished for company and when he was in the presence of others, he very badly wanted for them to leave him alone. 

Autumn was slowly dying, as was his spirit and with the upcoming Christmas festivities, Scipio wanted nothing more than to die. A week in hell would have seemed kind when compared to a single Christmas feast with Draco and his aunt Narcissa. But the days ticked away quicker than he could have hoped and he was soon seated with Draco, Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy on the Hogwarts Express.

"So Scipio, you're spending Christmas with Draco, aren't you?" Pansy piped, trying to spruce up conversation between the two cousins. Draco was fiddling with his wand and Scipio glared absentmindedly out the window.

"No Pansy, he's going back to Venice and he's going to starve his arse off because he has no money or a place to live." Draco said with a sharp tone and an icy glare in Pansy's direction.

"It'd be much better than staying with the son of a death eater." Scipio said in what was a tone louder than a whisper.

"What was that? At least I know where my father is!"

"I do too. And believe me, he'd still be a far better father dead than your father any day!"

"Take that back!"

"On my death bed!" Scipio screamed, shuffling hastily out of his seat. 

 "Don't come back!" Draco said, rising out of his seat.

"I won't! Not until I have to see your friggin' face when we get off this train, at least!"

With that, Scipio picked up his wand and luggage and walked to an empty compartment. 

            **************************************Harry*********************************************

"So Scipio's gone home with Draco for Christmas?" Ron asked, filling his mouth with porridge and bacon at the breakfast table.

"Yeah. He sounded really angry about having to go." Harry said, toying with his eggs. He really wasn't in the mood to eat, especially when thinking about Scipio.

"How would you know? He's always angry about something!" Ron said between bites.

"Ron! Scipio's going through a very rough time and now he has to go back to live with the Malfoy's." Hermione said, also playing with her food. She was worried about Scipio as well.

"Just for vacation! The guy needs to lighten up. If Harry can deal with it-"

"But that's just it, Ron. Scipio isn't Harry. He doesn't respond to problems the way that Harry does. But I know he'll get through this, it may not be as soon as we'd like it to happen, but he'll get over it soon enough."

"Hermione, that's why I love you so much," Ron said, leaning in to give Hermione a kiss. Hermione however, backed away.

"Don't kiss me, Ron. Your breath reeks. Did you brush your teeth this morning?"

"I'm going to visit Lupin," Harry replied dismally and flew out of the common room with a few mummers from Ron about Scipio trailing slowly behind him. . . 

Harry was just about to push open the door of Professor Lupin's office when he heard hushed mutters from the other side of the door. Kneeling to a squatting position on the floor, he pulled out a pair of extendable ears, a gift from the Weasley twins, and slid them under the door and listened . . 

"He should know, Dumbledore."

"He will know in due time, Remus, but let us give the boy an enjoyable holiday for once in his life."

"Procrastination will only worsen the present state of things. We both know that if Sirius is not delivered from behind the veil soon…"

"Let's not worry the boy, Remus. We should give him at least until the holidays are finished."

"Waiting will do none of us any good. Perhaps you don't see the urgency in what I'm trying to do. For Scipio's sake, for Harry's and for my own, He needs to be sent for by the next new moon. That's Christmas day!"

"I see the urgency in the matter, Remus. I have both boys' best intents at heart as do I have yours. But we should steer to the sides of caution. Should Lucious Malfoy get wind of any peculiar behavior form his son, even so much as a hint of what we might be up to, it will lead Voldemort to Harry through Scipio."

_What are they talking about? Leading Voldemort to me?_

_"_Yes, you're right. Perhaps we must use the utmost caution. But we mustn't forget the prophecy."

"I am aware, Remus. _The only one who can deliver what has been lost behind the veil is his son whom he has never met before. In the rescuing of his father, however, his own life will be lost and the debt repaid to the guards behind the veil…"_

Harry swallowed the stone perched deep within his throat and let a single trail of tears flow onto his cheek. He'd never let go of Scipio so easily. Not to Voldemort or the guards of the veil. But would he be able to let him go for the sake of Sirius's life?

A/N: Cliffie! Next week…The truth is broken to Scipio…what will happen??? R&R.


	12. Tears and Fears

A/N: Hehehe…I can't tell you if anyone dies. Sorry about the bad foreshadowing in chapter eleven, didn't mean to do that to you, and no…I don't think I'm J.K. Rowling…but then again…I'm a schizo and a compulsive liar so you'd never truly know…lol. I won't give any more clues away and I most definitely will quit the summaries…lol.  Oh, that reference with Fred, George, and Lee: I said Fred and George closed their joke shop to visit and that Lee had tagged along…maybe that reader missed that detail…Keep reviewing and tell your friends to review… this whole writing thing is making me look better and better. Who knows, I might tell JK (or myself as Hagin refers to me as JK herself) in an email to the official site…BTW…new pov set up…you'll see…

Scipio- 

Scipio awoke late the next day, body lagging from lack of willingness to care about himself. As far as he was concerned, Dumbledore was as mad as everyone made him up to be. There was no way he could believe his father was behind a veil and that no one could save him. If there was anyone who could save him from behind the veil, it had to be him…or Harry…

                He stood and dressed himself in a pair of black slacks and a ginger colored sweater, one of Aunt Narcissa's latest gifts thrown upon him. As he descended down the steps, he heard a snigger from the bottom of the landing, and sure enough, a blond-headed blue-eyed boy was leaning upon the banister carelessly with his arms crossed and a twisted smile of malice upon his smug face. Scipio narrowed his eyes and continued to descend down the steps.

"Have a nice rest?"

                "Until I saw your face."

                "Why don't we cut the hostility and get to the chase, Scip. That is what Potter, Mudblood, and Weasel call you, right? "

                "What are you blabbing about? What chase?"

                "I know something that would kill you if I did or didn't tell you today. Something that would change your life forever."

                "You're going to die?"

                "The sarcasm," Draco said, unfolding his arms "must cease if you wish to know anything about your father."

Scipio felt his mouth go dry and he tried to put a cool look upon his face, but failed miserably.

"What do you mean, you know something about my father that would kill me if I didn't tell you today?"

Draco, realizing he had the upper hand on the situation pointed up to his bedroom and led Scipio up the steps. He opened the door and a blast of icy-coolness ran throughout Scipio's clothes like a dagger. The room was painted black, dark gothic candles floated mid-air and a collection of dark-magical woks by various authors lined the shelves. Draco pointed to a chair and sat upon his bed and immediately picked up a blue stick and began to toy with it. Scipio immediately recognized it as a truth-stick; a tamper-proof stick that glows when an individual tells a truth and grows longer as they tell lies.  Draco continued to fondle with the truth-stick as he began to speak.

"So, Scipio, it's Christmas tomorrow…any plans or adventures planned?"

                "No-"

                " Hmm…that's too bad. Something exciting always happens at Christmas time. Draco passed Scipio a magazine called the "Astronomy Weekly" and continued to toy with his truth-stick.

                "What is this for?"

                "Nothing…I just find it rather interesting that the first new moon in December happens to fall on Christmas day. You know they say souls are renewed every new moon. They even say that you can bring a person back from the dead exactly six months after their death on a full-moon."

Scipio felt hatred boil in his blood and remained calm as he responded.

"And so you're assuming that I will jump at this notion and-"

                "Save your father before it's too late. But of course, you have that thin, yellow blood in your body. You wouldn't risk anything to save the life of someone else…including your father."

                Slowly working together what Draco had just told him, Scipio stretched his long arms and put a finger to his mustache growth. 

"Even if what you are telling me now is true, I still don't see why you'd want to benefit me under any circumstances. You see Draco," Scipio said giving his cousin an icy glare that penetrated right through Draco's smug façade "there is absolutely no reason I'd trust you to assist me without you putting a knife in my back, a blindfold around my eyes and a drugging potion to make me incapable of my own thoughts."

                "Suit yourself. You should know, however that if you change your mind after 9:00, your father will never come back."

Scipio rose to his feet and sent one last icy stare back Draco's way. After closing the door, he felt a hot teardrop rolling down his cheek.

                The stick in Draco's hand had glowed.

Harry- 

Harry sat in his windowsill and stared off into the distance of the never-ending Hogwarts grounds. Students had gone outside for sleigh rides and snow fights and Ron and Hermione had gone off on some date in which Ron had included a round of "snow-snogging." 

                "I'll tell you what Harry," Ron had whispered that morning at breakfast. "She may be very snappy and prissy, but she's the snogging queen!"

                Harry however did not feel in the spirit to snog or be snogged. Instead, his mind was blatantly upon the prophecy he had overheard and Scipio. Feelings of guilt overran Harry: if he had never gone to the Department of Mysteries, Sirius would be safe. Scipio would have a father.  Sirius would be untied with the son of the woman he asked to marry…

                He was going to the Department of Mysteries once more. Only this time, he wouldn't risk anyone else's life but his own. He was going alone. 

                And he was going tonight.

A/N: I approximate 3 more chapters. I'm working on them so please be patient. Please tell your friends to review my story…I'm loosing inspiration…but I'll finish anyway. 


	13. The Department of Mysteries

Author's note: Really long drawn out chapter with a lot of .er.. interesting facts that could totally change the way you view this story so..beware! BTW, thanks to reviewers like Hagin, Slytherin's Snake and caution for urging me to continue in emails and in the review section.you have me actually considering a follow-up to this tale.  
  
Scipio-  
  
There is a pivotal point in every person's life where all sense of caution flies out of the window and all heeded warnings go through one ear and out the other; where the ends justify the means and sacrifices are meaningless. It is when a person reaches this pivotal point that life is taken for granted for a single moment of curiosity or a whim.and usually taken for a joyride by their own fate until they realize that their conscious mind is no longer steering the vehicle, but rather their drive and sheer determinism.  
  
Scipio had reached his pivotal point.  
  
And there was no turning back.  
  
I must save my father.I must save my father.I must save my father.Scipio chanted repeatedly in the back of his mind.  
  
Scipio rose to his feet and threw on a pair of black slacks and a ragged black t-shirt. He looked at his watch and seeing that it said 8:00, he started towards his bedroom door. Tonight, he was going to the Ministry of Magic. Though he'd not even a single clue of how to get there, his sheer extremism drove him on in a powerful state of passion, drive and motivation. Not even Voldemort himself could stop Scipio.nobody could. Still in his bedroom slippers, he walked out of his room and had just begun to descend down the great stairway's steps when he heard a faint whisper from down the corridor. It was a masculine voice, but far too deep to be that of Draco's. Out of curiosity, Scipio slowly walked down the corridor; despite the awkward glares he was receiving from the portraits and finally eased his way to the end of the hall.  
  
I must see him, must meet him.must know my father.Scipio muttered aloud now, as if trying to drown out the doubt that had now so subtly set into his mind.  
  
Scipio noticed that the voices were louder now, harsher and more rash than the prior whispers he had heard before, yet the sounds weren't coming from the bedroom doors, which surrounded him, as he had previously thought.  
  
They were coming from the portraits.  
  
Portraits from all about the Malfoy Manor were slowly inching closer and closer to Scipio, heeding warnings and omens. One such portrait was that of his great-great-great grandfather, Phineas Nigellus.  
"Are you a complete idiot or just half of one? Do you not realize that you will meet your doom trying to save your low-life father?"  
Startled, Scipio spun upon his heels and faced Phineas' portrait, a glimmer of fear welling up into his eyes and gradually rolling down his cheek and onto the marble floor. "How did you know that's where I'm going?"  
"Oh please, as if Lucius' son's voice doesn't carry a mile for all to hear it. But that is beside the point, what I asked you is do you realize what great peril you are putting yourself in? Not only might you not save your father's life, but you may also waste your own!"  
"It is a risk, I must take."  
"You are a fool, boy! A true Gryffindor at heart! We Slytherin are brave, but sensible enough to save our own skin when the time comes!"  
"Oh do shut-up, sir. You're beginning to irk me."  
Scipio continued walking towards the end of the hall, but he heard Phineas' last call to him before he turned the corner.  
"Should you ever reach your moment of peril, put your wand across your heart and say "In the name of Merlin, I pardon my soul!"."  
Scipio paused for a moment and etched that phrase to heart as he continued to the end of the hall.  
  
Harry-  
  
I know where to go. Let me pray that I am not caught.Harry thought as he walked into the Ministry of Magic. He'd gotten there by way of a favor that Stan; driver of the Knight Bus had owed him from nearly three years ago. Ernie had been making Christmas rounds this year and had stopped to visit an old friend, Professor Trelawny (whom one would like to add, was blushing like a schoolgirl during their entire conversation). Harry later caught up with Stan, and to the pain of his own ears, took the Knight Bus to the Ministry of Magic and departed into the building.  
Harry pulled his wand from his cloak and began venturing up the main steps until he reached the corridor of the Department of Mysteries. Walking stealthily and without too many sudden movements or sounds, he found himself facing the circling room he'd only known so well. He closed the doors and the torches lit, sending a neon-blue glow all about Harry's face, sending his mind into a spiraling dizziness unlike anything else he'd ever experienced. Soon enough, the doors were slowing down and Harry found himself confused. Looking around for a clue of some sort, he spotted a red X on one door and remembered: Hermione had etched it there the last time he came.so the door standing directly in front of his face should be.Harry opened the door and walked through it with a grave sense of uncertainty.  
  
Scipio- Looking around for a trap door of some sort, he felt his hand along the wall, as if trying to tap in some secret code. He didn't notice at the time that the portraits were beginning to whisper in addition to the sounds through the wall. Scipio continued to run his fingers up and down the wall into every nook and cranny and suddenly he was given the strangest notion: tap the wall with your wand. Scipio reached into his pocket and pulled out his wand, gave the wall a light, but meaningful tap and waited.  
  
The walls were parting and in front of him stood Draco, eyes lidded from the heavy darkness about him.  
"YOU!" Scipio bellowed, mouth being soon covered by Draco's hand that pushed his body against the wall and whispered into his ear.  
"Come, you only have one hour left."  
Scipio, seeing no other alternative followed Draco into the dark wall and followed. The doors were immediately closed and Draco's wand was lit. The room in which they were standing in was surrounded by what seemed to be mirrors, yet in each mirror, a different background showed. Draco turned to face Scipio and smiled wryly. "These are mirrors of destination, given to our family from various wizarding establishments. All you have to do is look into the mirror you want and walk through it, and you will be instantly transported to that room."  
"Which one do I need to look into?"  
"The one farthest to the left. It will take you directly to the room where the veil lies."  
Still feeling a bit of uneasiness and unreliability about the whole situation, Scipio stared Draco in the eyes. "You swear to me that this is the room."  
"Upon my father's soul."  
"Don't give me that cock-and-bull. How can I trust you?"  
"You can't really, I suppose. But this you can trust, your father is on the opposite side of the veil and you have," Draco glanced at his watch "less than an hour to find his soul and bring him back."  
Feeling a sense of dread for what could soon come, Scipio walked in front of the mirror and took a deep breath and walked through towards his destination. At first, he stuck in a finger and felt a cold rush of a sensation throughout his entire body, a longing for more. Then a hand, an arm, a leg and very soon the rest of his body, until the background he'd seen before was as real as Malfoy Manor had been.  
  
Scipio glanced around the room. It was a cavernous room, much like that of an amphitheatre and was completely made of stone. The steps descended until they, at last, reached a stone dais with a stone archway in the center. Hanging from this ancient archway was what seemed to be a black veil that lightly billowed as if catching some invisible breeze, or as though something had just walked through it? Descending the steps, he walked towards the archway and lifted a hand to put his hand through.  
  
"Hello Scipio Black," an oddly cold and high-pitched voice announced from behind him. Scipio turned around and gazed into the face of unadulterated hatred and fear.  
  
Harry-  
  
Harry's forehead began throbbing uncontrollably now, as he lifted his hands to push open the great doors of the room. Putting his wand at the ready, he lightly moved the door so that it stood barely ajar and heard an unmistakable voice.  
Harry peered through the gap and saw Voldemort and Lucius Malfoy tying up some covered figure. He craned his neck to get a better view, but Lucius stood directly in his line of view. Harry stood completely still and listened closely.  
"Now boy, I don't have the time for any foolish games. Where is Potter?"  
"I don't know!" an oddly familiar voice responded, though gagged and muffled it might have been.  
"Do not lie to the Dark Lord, boy, for he knows all!" Lucius demanded, voice full of malice.  
"I'm not lying! Draco took me here-"  
"You tell the truth boy, I can see the truth seeping from your worthless mind like a book. Tell me, Lucius, it was you who said that this boy was a close one to Potter?"  
"Yes Dark Lord. My son tells me all the time."  
"I see. You do realize that if Potter does not come here tonight, I will take your son's life.don't you?"  
"I do, Dark Lord, but there is nothing more I can do unless Potter, by some odd chance of fate has decided to show up on his own."  
  
"I have," Harry announced pushing open the great doors with fury, his long black cape trailing behind him like a breeze. His eyes stabbed like darts and his hand stayed upon his long wand. "And I demand that you let Scipio Black go free."  
  
Scipio-  
  
Scipio let out a light sigh of relief; though panic still pounded through his chest. Seeing Harry so volatile and serene at the same time was quite an event. His pose, his long cloak flowing behind him, his hair madly placed all about his face and into his piercing green eyes. He was, as Scipio thought, at his height. His moment. And yet, Scipio found himself muttering over and over again the saying Phineas had repeated to him not even fifteen minutes ago.  
Scipio saw Voldemort whip out a wand of his own and tried to yell to Harry a warning.  
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Voldemort bellowed and a flash of green light headed straight towards Harry, who dodged the strike by mere seconds to spare.  
"STUPEFY!" Harry roared, sending a blast of red light back to Voldemort, which deflected off of the same shield he'd used last year against Dumbledore.  
Harry ducked to get level with the ground. Peering over the sides of a stone bench, he jumped up and screamed "IMPEDIMENTA!" as Voldemort sent back a hiss of "CRUCIO!" Both jets of light met half way with an explosion.  
"Potter, why do you continue to play the hero every time we meet? Could it be that one dead person is better than two?"  
"Not when you're on a mission to save the one person who means everything to you!"  
Voldemort let out a vigorous laugh and smiled in Harry's direction. "You have always been a fool who loves to act."  
"And you, have simply just been a fool."  
  
Voldemort laughed and pointed his wand at Harry, sending a green blast of light surging into his heart.  
  
Harry fell to the floor and lie motionless.  
  
Scipio let out a scream.  
  
The silence after this reverberated throughout the hall and finally died as Voldemort let out a laugh of victory.  
  
A/N: I won't say a goddamn word. *Silence* 


	14. Beyond the Veil

A/N: I choose to speak again. Enjoy. The ending comes out soon, don't worry.  
  
Not one person has gone beyond the veil and lived to tell the tale. All that is known is that the veil is this: easy to walk into, impossible to walk out of.  
  
Harry- (1ss person)  
  
"Potter, why do you continue to play the hero every time we meet? Could it be that one dead person is better than two?" Voldemort said to me, voice full of loathing and scorn. I could feel the boiling of his soul from the distance I was at, and it was making me nervous.very nervous.I straightened my self up and slowly lowered my wand, totally self-assured  
If I go down, I thought, I go down with valor and bravery. Like my father.like my mother.like Sirius...  
  
"Not when you're on a mission to save the one person who means everything to you!" I replied. The words weren't really even my own.they simply rolled off of my tongue as if my lips had predestined I'd say this a very long time ago. I stood ever firmer, digging my toes into the stone floor until the bones began to crush. I winced slightly and took a breath in.  
  
. "You have always been a fool who loves to act." Voldemort said, narrowing his eyes, smiling grimly at the prospect of killing me. Ridding himself of me once and for all.Realizing that I was defenseless from another attack, I readily lowered my wand to my side and forced a last smile.  
  
"And you, have simply just been a fool." Yeah, Harry.tell him.say what you've been meaning to say to his face for the last sixteen years.Tell him that he was a fool for killing your mother, father and Sirius.Tell him that the debt will not go unpaid.tell him he will rot in hell for eternity for all the pain he's ever inflicted upon you.kill him Harry..  
  
Before he kills you first.  
  
The next thing I felt was this surging heat from my heart. I remember gasping in pain and in agony.the heat and the pain.like white-hot wires being tied around m body; bound in this excruciating pain and anguish.  
I'm going to die, I thought I'm going to die.  
And I fell to the floor and looked up.my eyes rolled back to their sockets and I stopped breathing.  
  
When I opened them again, I found myself staring from above the whole scene.my body lying motionless and I knew my worst nightmare had come true.  
  
I'd died.  
  
I saw Voldemort let out a great laugh; slit-eyes budging somehow in content and disbelief. I believe that he thought I would have fought longer than I did. What he didn't know was that I was not, in a sense, as dead as he'd wished, or even hoped for. As a matter of fact, I had some unfinished business to take care of. And in the magical world, there is only one thing that a soul can do when it has unfinished business to take care of.  
  
I became a ghost.  
  
And there was hell to pay.  
  
Voldemort saw what was now hovering above my remains and he was not at all pleased at the effects. He pointed his wand at me and yelled "CRUCIO!"  
Nothing whatsoever happened to me.  
  
I looked intensely at Voldemort.looked at his monstrous being and laughed.  
  
"You have seen the err of your ways, Voldemort. Had you for once properly given all possible thought to what might happen if you tried to kill me, you'd have realized that I came here with a purpose? I came to save my Godfather. You, fortunately, in your haste to rid yourself of me once and for all, did not take this in mind. And so, here I am before you, as undestroyed as I will ever become. 'Neither can live-' "  
  
" 'W-while the other s-survives,' " Voldemort muttered angrily. He now looked at me in absolute silence and smiled, laughing bitterly.  
  
"What is so funny?" I demanded.  
  
"Once you save your Godfather, you will cease to exist." Voldemort yelled, smile of antagonism showing fully on his worthless face.  
  
I froze. He was right.my unfinished business will end if I save Sirius.Sirius! I had.How many minutes left?  
  
"You have less than a half-hour left to pass through that veil and save your godfather, Harold James Potter."  
  
I panicked.save Sirius and cease to live or save myself and exist forever only as a memory? Fulfill the prophecy by awaiting Voldemort death?  
  
I needn't have waited too long to make my decision because Scipio made a dash for the veil and disappeared before Voldemort or Lucius could stop him.  
  
Scipio-  
  
Cold. Everything behind this veil was cold, and exceptionally dark. Scipio shuddered and pulled his wand out of his pocket. "Lumos" and almost immediately regretted it.  
  
He was floating in a bottomless pit.a long never-ending ion of space and time. Behind him, he saw the flapping of the veil, in front of him he saw lines and lines of people; but they were not exactly what you'd call people, because they weren't people.  
  
They were souls. Every individual was a ghastly iridescent shade of blue and silver and each of them was grabbing hold of his body, calling out to him and begging him to save them.  
"Help me!"  
  
"No, save me, save me!"  
"Listen to none of them, it is me you want!"  
  
Scipio struggled free of all of the others. He knew whom he'd come for, and he knew to call him by name.  
"SIRIUS BLACK!"  
  
All of a sudden, the floating bodies began to fade into the black oblivion of the space, each calling out last second cries of "save me!" and "Help me!" Scipio was now being rushed forward to a room; guarded by long hooded creatures and in the center, a rather large creature. It's many heads (six in all) were inspecting Scipio, each with a different emotion: anger, sadness, denial, happiness, despair and one with no emotion whatsoever. Attached to it's many heads was a scaly muscular body with long sharp claws larger than a sword (thirty-six talons in all). Feeling that he was, in fact, where he should be, he addressed the sphinx in a dynamic voice that quivered with fear.  
  
"I-I am here to take S-Sirius Black!"  
The creature's many faces looked undisturbed by what Scipio had just demanded and recited rather dully all together:  
  
"We are the faces of misfortune, of guilt of death and strives,  
With our many faces our many lies and claws of butcher knives,  
Many a man will come to rescue what was lost and many a sinner dies  
For he is forced to decide amongst which us will tell him not our lies.  
And so, brave weary traveler from the world beyond our own  
You must choose the one among us to whom the truth is known.  
Find the truth and set it free and we will grant you what you desire,  
Find the lie and we shall bury your soul in everlasting fire.  
Anger will grant you freedom should you wander in her wake,  
Sadness will grant you a savior in your own name's sake,  
Denial will grant you wisdom beyond all others of your time,  
Happiness will grant you eternity and all powering your prime,  
Despair will grant you wishes three of anything and all,  
Valor swears you nothing but the day that you will fall.  
Here is the question, think not too long and definitely not too short  
Which one of us shows truth beyond the others in the sort?"  
  
The poem ended and an uproar of shrill screams erupted.  
  
"I am the honest one, these other ones are lies!" The angry one bellowed.  
"Believe me, young master! I cannot tell you why, but believe in what I say!" Sadness cried.  
"Do not let her deceive you! I am the Truth.or at least I believe I am." The one in denial began.  
"Ha! She is unsure! Alas that she ends up like a shrew and burns!" Despair called out.  
"You know that I tell you no lie, young master! Happiness can buy you power." Happiness began with a broad grin.  
"I promise you nothing. I do not tell you that I lie or that I tell you truth. Choose any of them."  
  
"Anger grants you freedom should you wander in her wake.No.it can't be you.Sadness causes grief, not a savior.denial takes away wisdom so it couldn't be you.. happiness lasts only a while.not an eternity.nothing good ever lasts. Despair? Why would it grant me three wishes? What sense does that even make? Valor.bringing the day that I will fall.I don't know!"  
"Alas.is that your final answer?"  
"NO! It is NOT my final answer.wait a moment."  
"Wait? We do not wait for any man!"  
"To wait is to procrastinate!"  
"That is true, sister."  
"Agreed here."  
"A lie, as are you!"  
"Young master knows I am a truth!"  
"No, He knows I am!"  
"No I!"  
Suddenly, Scipio was struck with fear. All faces seemed to be telling falsehoods.none told a truth.  
  
None told a truth!  
  
"I have my answer! I know which of you tells me the truth!"  
"It's me, isn't it?"  
"I knew it was I all along, good job master!"  
"Fool, he knows it was I that told the truth!"  
"NO! All of you lie! I believe the truth I'm seeking is that lies have many faces, but the truth has only one face.the face that is never seen or heard over the lies!"  
  
Suddenly, a bright light shown about the creatures and a beautiful maiden took the place of them, her long silvery hair flowing gently into her milky complexion, her starlit robes billowing across her body with the serenity and nobility of a goddess.  
"You have sought the truth, young master, and now, I will grant to you what you deserve."  
Into his arms, appeared the weightless body of a young man, face aged beyond its years. Long black hair drifting into his face, bags under what seemed to used to have been almond-like shaped eyes. A dark complexion and a wild untamed look about him, yet a look of domestication.almost like a dog.  
Scipio carried the weightless body in his arms and the veil was in front of him. He was only feet away.  
  
Inches away.  
  
Until the guards at the veil stood firmly in his way.  
  
Harry-  
  
Harry floated through the veil, looking for Scipio and Sirius.praying they were still there.praying they were on their way back. From where he floated, he saw Scipio carrying Sirius.He'd found him! But the moment of joy ended as he saw the guards holding Scipio back.not allowing him to pass.  
Frantic, Harry moved to where the guards and Scipio were. With all fierceness in his eyes, he stared at the hooded figure and screamed. "I demand you let them through!"  
Unmoved by this demand, the guards stood firmly. Finally, one spoke.  
"A life for a life. One enters and only one returns-"  
"What? They both will return!"  
" One. No more and no less."  
"THAT ISN'T SO!" Harry shrieked, panic surging with anger.  
"One of them will die, and one will live."  
"I tell you this, both of them will live and neither will die!". And he lifted Scipio and Sirius into his arms and made his way out of the veil.  
  
  
  
It is unknown exactly how Harry did it. A surge of love, some might call it. A force from deep within him, a force that is at once more wonderful and more terrible tha death, than human intelligence, than forces of nature. All that is known is Harry, though his unconditional love for both Sirius and Scipio, channeled into this great power and the once locked door in the Department of Mysteries was unlocked forever. Harry had, through that deep magic within his own being, resurrected himself. And with this resurrection, the ability to cheat death the sixth time in his life. And as he walked through the veil, he was not a boy anymore. He was no longer a man. He was no longer ghost. Harry became an enigma himself.  
  
  
  
Harry put down Scipio and Sirius onto the cold stone floor and locked his eyes upon Voldemort. Lucius fled out of the room and left Voldemort alone with Harry.  
  
Voldemort pointed his wand at Harry and bellowed "AVADA KEDAVRA!" Harry, who had dropped his wand by his body when he had died, merely stood still in his place and muttered "FINOUSA!", as if he held the wand firmly within his hands. Within inches from his face, the jet of green light stopped and disappeared suddenly.  
  
Harry had conjured magic (and stopped it) without the use of his wand.  
  
Voldemort gasped, and for the first time in his life felt a sense of dread and fear. "You will die again, Potter! But next time, I doubt that you'll be resurrected!"  
And with a blast of smoke, Voldemort disappeared without a trace.  
  
Harry stood unmoved, feeling drained and wasted and fell onto the hard stone floor where both Sirius and Scipio lie and fell into a coma.  
  
A/N: It's not over yet.One last chapter.. check it out to understand how it all makes sense at the end.believe me.it will.. 


	15. New Beginings

Scipio-  
  
Scipio sat up in his hospital bed in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. He'd realized that he'd been here for the last week or so when Dumbledore made a visit to him after his concussion; the only side effect he managed after passing in and out of the veil.  
"You should be thankful that that is the only thing that happened to you." Dumbledore replied calmly when Scipio first saw him again.  
"How is Sirius? Harry? I need to know how Harry is!"  
Dumbledore paused for a moment and breathed deeply, "Sirius is fine, and he is alive and well, as he has been demanding food for the last few days. He's also been demanding to see you, but I think we'll put that off until later. Let's have some porridge, shall we?"  
"What about Harry?"  
Again, Dumbledore paused, now realizing that he could no longer put off what needed to be said, he sighed and began. "Harry, for the past week, has been in a coma. Nobody is sure what happened to him, exactly. All we know is that he stayed conscious enough to retrieve both you and Sirius from behind the veil."  
"When will he come out of it?" Scipio muttered, unable to get most of the words out.  
"We believe in another month or so, it is too early to see any vital signs-"  
"A month or so. Then I will wait, but take me to see my father."  
Dumbledore led Scipio down the hall and into the recovery unit, where he knocked lightly on the first door and waited.  
"Come in," a deep raspy voice called out from inside the room.  
Dumbledore walked into the room with ease, but Scipio was still unsure. This was the first time he had met his father, how would he look? What would he say?  
"Come in, Scipio," Dumbledore announced, and Scipio walked through the door as he took a deep breath. A tall man with long matted hair and heavy bags under his eyes faced Scipio. His deep dark eyes looked at Scipio in awe and he reached forth his hand to touch Scipio's own. Scipio slowly advanced towards the man, extending his hand outwards until the fingertips of both touched and a firm lock of the eyes had been made. As if all sense of time had stopped, he embraced his father and tears began to fall from his eyes. Tears of joy, of sorrow, of pain and angst. Tears that lasted forever in that hospital room.  
  
ONE MONTH, 7 DAYS LATER  
  
Harry-  
  
*I know where I am . . . I'm in the hospital . . .but where is everyone? Where is Ron? Where is Hermione? Where is Sirius . . .and Scipio?*  
Harry began to sit up, which required every last ounce of his strength, and narrowed his eyes. The bright florescent colors of the wallpaper burned his eyes and caused him a minor headache. Adjusting his eyes and moving his hands around his end table for his glasses, he picked them up, put them on his face and looked at the people who had fallen asleep upon his room floor.  
There was Hermione and Ron, cuddled together on the rug, Mr. And Mrs. Weasley, who'd fallen asleep in a rather large oversized recliner, Tonks and Lupin who had easily nestled in by lying in on each other's shoulders, Mad-eye, who remained distant and slept in a corner, Ginny, who'd slept at the end of Harry's bed, Fred and George, who'd developed boils during the night, most likely and a set of snores from a certain two people with long black hair and dark complexions beside the coffee table.  
Harry smiled and coughed loudly. Everyone jumped up and looked at Harry, smiled and cheered. Harry smiled and looked into the face of Sirius. He was young again, bags no longer drooped his eyes, a soft smile shown and his hair . . .very much like Scipio's own hair, which led Harry to believe that Scipio had been doing his Dad's hair for the past few. . .  
"What's today?" Harry asked, suddenly aware of time.  
"February seventh! You've been gone for a month and a week, Harry."  
"Wow . . .I hope you all haven't been waiting that long!"  
Laughter rang throughout the hospital room as Dumbledore walked in.  
"Hello Professor Dumbledore."  
"Hello Harry. I'm sorry to kill what seemed to have been a happy moment in time, but I need to speak with you."  
"It's alright. Thanks for visiting me, guys . . .I'll be out for breakfast in a few." Harry announced as everyone turned to leave.  
"Harry, it's nearly supper time!" Fred and George sniggered.  
"Oh . . .well, I'll see you for supper then."  
Everyone left the room until only Dumbledore and Harry remained.  
  
"I suppose you need to know what happened Christmas Eve, eh Professor?"  
"You'd be right in that assumption, Harry."  
And before Harry knew it, the whole tale of what happened Christmas Eve night filled the hospital room, sometimes loud enough where Dumbledore had to tell Harry to bring down his volume. Before long, Dumbledore had stopped listening to Harry and listened to the silence that followed his tale. Sitting down, Dumbledore took a deep breath and began to speak.  
"I have never heard such a tale, Harry, not even one from you. I can only imagine that you are as curious as I to know how certain things happened to you. It is now that I accredit your lack of listening skills for the saving of your own life."  
"What do you mean?"  
"Harry, you didn't finish hearing out what Professor Lupin and I said about the prophecy. It was more gore than you could have imagined."  
"Well, what was the ending then?"  
"The ending to the prophecy, Harry, was that Scipio would die unless you risked your own existence to set him and his father free from the veil. Harry, the prophecy spoke of your death, the death of an entire world should you have failed. The uprising of the most evil thing known to mankind and the most deadly era in years. You realize now that I could not have risked such a thing, I could never tell Scipio or you that Sirius would die if you didn't save him that night. But never, never did I imagine that Scipio and you would overhear anyway and fulfill the prophecy. Never did I imagine, that by dying, Voldemort gave you the key to saving both Scipio and Sirius's lives. What now puzzles me; greater than anything about your story is why you didn't cease to exist after you rescued your godfather. But as I hear your tale now, I understand it entirely, without a single flaw."  
"What is that?"  
"I'm sure you remember me telling you once before that there is a room in the Department of Mysteries that always stays locked, and has never been opened. When the ministry came in that next day, the lock had been broken and the door had been left slightly ajar. Harry, you opened that room, you gave to yourself the power of life and resurrected yourself from the very last core of your being, the central character that distinguishes you from Lord Voldemort: love. Love again conquered all, Harry. You stand before us today not as Harry Potter, but as a resurrected being. You've gone through death and seen your way back. You are the only person who has ever managed this in the history of the world. Though it goes beyond all logical thinking, Harry, you've been reborn with that special force rushing through your blood. And again, you become 'the boy who lived'."  
Harry lie back upon his pillow and sighed.  
"You have yet to defeat the Dark Lord, Harry, and your time draws ever closer each day that you live. The war over death is over. The war for the world continues."  
Harry closed his eyes and lie back upon his pillow. "When will it all end, Dumbledore?"  
Dumbledore mustered the strength to give Harry a false smile as he walked towards the door. "Soon, Harry. Very soon."  
Harry closed his eyes for a moment and pulled himself out of bed. Now was a time for rejoicing, not worrying about what will come.  
For what will come will come anyway.  
And what will not, won't. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------  
Epilogue -  
  
When Harry and Scipio returned to Hogwarts the following week of Harry's release, news had already spread like wildfire, and soon, the truth about what happened behind the veil was no longer a mystery. News reporters from London, France, Spain, Egypt, and yes; even Venice, Italy, were waiting in lines to interview the famous and renown Harry Potter, Scipio Black and the wrongly accused (and formerly deceased) Sirius Black. It was, by luck entirely that Scipio and Harry passed their end of the year exams, let alone find time to busy in their own lives.  
"Harry," Scipio asked one day as he, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Harry sat in the great hall over breakfast "Would you have done the same thing twice?"  
Harry paused for a moment, and thought heavily. "No. I'd have done the same thing infinitely."  
Scipio hardly mentioned Draco, saying that he'd heard nothing from him since the day he sold Scipio to Lord Voldemort. As a matter of fact, Draco was not seen at all at school for the remainder of term, but that was not to anyone's misfortune besides Crabbe, Goyle and the rest of the Slytherins. Among all other houses, the mysterious disappearance of Draco went basically unnoticed.  
"I hope he doesn't ever come back, the git!" Ron said, stabbing at his already dissimilated bacon slices and toast.  
"I wonder what's happened to him, though . . .perhaps he's finally being home schooled." Hermione wondered aloud as she grabbed the knife from Ron's hands.  
"I pity his professor. What a lousy way to live your life . . .teaching Draco in Malfoy Manor. I would know!" Scipio replied as he watched a seventh year Ravenclaw pass their table.  
As the school year finally came to its dismal ending, the population of Hogwarts gathered together for the end of the year's meeting in the great hall.  
"Fellow students, staff, and anyone else who finds themselves wandering the halls of Hogwarts on a daily basis, yet another year has come and gone, friendships made and some friendships made stronger. Through trials and tribulations, this year has seen it's share of pain, sorrow, and in some cases," Dumbledore paused to look at Harry "resurrection of the human spirit. It is times such as these when we should bond together for the common good rather than the misfortune of others." Dumbledore cleared his throat and dabbed his eyes lightly. "I believe the words of our very own sorting hat said that 'united we stand, divided we fall' and what a true statement that was; because at this precise moment, one of you, one of your fellow classmates, friends and possibly family has recently passed away."  
Scipio gasped in horror and put his hands to his face as a teardrop found it's way to the marble floor.  
"I am talking, about Draco Malfoy, prefect of the Slytherin house as well as seeker on the quidditch team."  
Whispers emerged from all about the great hall, looks of dismay and terror rode upon each face. Ron could only gape and murmur something sorrowful to Hermione, who shook her head and looked downcast.  
"Mr. Malfoy, I fear, fought on the side of Lord Voldemort this Christmas past. He sacrificed two of his own fellow students' lives, both of which stand here today to tell their tales, and in the process was inhumanly killed by Lord Voldemort. Mr. Malfoy was a bright young man with a past, a present and a future whose very life was ripped away when he fought on the side of death, hate and intolerable cruelty instead of the side of life, love and all that is right. May he forever be an example of why when in these troubling times, it is always better to die for what is right than to die for an unjust cause. We lift our glasses today to remember Mr. Draco Malfoy."  
Harry looked over at the Slytherin table and heard the distinguished sobs of Pansy Parkinson and other Slytherin students. He, and the rest of the great hall, lifted their glasses fully out of respect, and not for like, of Draco Malfoy and drank to their own morals and values, each silently praying that they would not see the same path as he.  
On the train ride home, Scipio, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny squeezed into one compartment and discussed the upcoming summer.  
"Dad reckons you can visit us this year," Scipio piped up, smiling as he said the word 'dad'. "He's gotten a job with the Ministry, a favor that Fudge owed Dumbledore; not that Fudge was a bit too happy about hiring and ex-convict, and we've bought a house in upper Bristol. I mean, think about it guys, I have a house to live in now!"  
"As opposed to the canals in Venice?" Ron replied sarcastically.  
"Oh shut-up Ron. Don't be upset that I've taken away your summer meet spot. I mean, I know you're jealous of my looks and all, but-"  
"Scipio, shut-up." Ginny replied from over the top of her 'Witch Weekly' magazine.  
"Ginny, I believe Harry has something to ask you." Scipio announced loudly. Hermione and Ron looked back and forth at each other, secretly exchanging glances and horribly disguised smiles. Ginny blushed and looked at Harry, who only flushed about ten shades before he could manage to speak.  
"Er- Ginny, I um, I er . . .would you fancy to be my girlfriend?" Harry asked, addressing the bottom of his shoes rather than Ginny herself. Ginny giggled and looked Harry in the eyes.  
"I would fancy being your girlfriend, Harold James Potter." And she gave Harry the softest kiss on the lips that Harry had ever experienced from a girl before.  
The kiss exchange went on and on until the train finally arrived at King's Station and everyone gathered their luggage and prepared their 'good- byes' for the summer months ahead. Harry and Scipio walked over to the side of the platform and greeted Mr. And Mrs. Weasley, Sirius and Harry's guard.  
  
"Great to see you back and in good health, Harry." Mrs. Weasley announced, pulling Harry into a rather tight hug and kissing both of his cheeks as she did her other children.  
"Keep it that way over the summer, I hear you'll be needing it when you're visiting Sirius." Mad-Eye grumbled, as though he really didn't want to say it.  
"Really? I can visit them this summer?" Harry asked ecstatically.  
"Harry, You'll be able to live with them when you turn eighteen . . .which happens to be this summer!" Tonks said smiling boldly.  
"Just remember Harry, I owe you my life, so you're more than welcome to -er . . .stage a runaway this summer, if you know what I mean . . ." Sirius said, grinning mischievously.  
"Don't you and Scipio get into too much trouble this summer!" said Harry, winking as he pushed his luggage off towards the Dursley's car.  
"Bye Harry!" Ginny called, blowing a very visible kiss to him so that it made her mother blush.  
"See ya, mate!" Ron screamed back.  
"Bye," Hermione Scipio Sirius and the other chimed together.  
Since the last time he could remember, Harry cried because he was happy. Not happy for others, but happy for himself.  
  
And he enjoyed the feeling.  
  
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End file.
